Albert Einstein
Born on: March 14, 1879
Born in: Ulm, Württemberg, Germany
Died on: April 18, 1955
Nationality: German, Swiss, American
Career: Physicist
Albert Einstein was a German born physicist, who is known for his phenomenal contribution to theoretical physics. His best works include ‘Theory of Relativity and specifically mass-energy equivalence, ‘E = mc2’. He even received a Nobel Prize in Physics, in the year 1921. Einstein published over 300 scientific works and over 150 non-scientific works. The legendary scientist is highly revered by the physics community. In the year 1999, ‘Time magazine’ named him the ‘Person of the Century’. As for the rest of the world, the name "Einstein" is synonymous with genius.
Early Works
While working in the patent office, Einstein’s four papers were published in the Annalen der Physik, the leading German physics journal. These papers have come to be known as Annus Mirabilis Papers. His papers were based on photoelectric effect, Brownian movement, electrodynamics and mass-energy equivalence. At the age of 26, Einstein was awarded a PhD by the University of Zurich. In 1910, he wrote a paper on critical opalescence, thereby explaining why the sky is blue. During 1909, Einstein wrote another paper, this time explaining the photon concept.
In 1911, Einstein became an associate professor at the University of Zurich and soon, was a full professor at the Charles University of Prague. Here, Einstein published a paper about the effects of gravity on light, specifically the gravitational redshift and the gravitational deflection of light. In 1912, he accepted professorship at ETH and in 1915, published a paper on general theory of relativity. In 1917, Einstein published an article on stimulated emission as well as a paper on the cosmological constant.
Fame
In 1919, Einstein’s gravitational deflection theory was confirmed by a team led by British astronomer. This won worldwide acclaim for Einstein and he became extremely famous. With this, he got an entry of in the scientific community, which was resented by many. In 1921, Einstein was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics, for his contribution to Theoretical Physics and especially, for his discovery of the law of the photoelectric effect.
However, as per his settlement with his wife, he gave the Nobel Prize money to Melvic on their divorce. Einstein wanted to generalize his theory of gravitation in order to unify and simplify the fundamental laws of physics, particularly gravitation and electromagnetism. Though he was highly appreciated for his works in theoretical physics, with time, he started becoming isolated and unsuccessful in his research.
Death
Einstein died on April 18, 1955, due to internal bleeding caused by the rupture of an aortic aneurysm, which had previously been diagnosed and reinforced. The legendary scientist died in Princeton Hospital, at the age of 76, but worked till the very end. His remains were cremated and his ashes were scattered. Just before the cremation, Princeton Hospital pathologist Thomas Stoltz Harvey removed Einstein's brain for preservation, without the permission of his family. He hoped that the neuroscience of the future might someday be able to find out what made Einstein so intelligent.
Answer the following questions:
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Who was Albert Einstein?
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What is he famous for?
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What were his theories?
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