What Einstein invented. Biography and discoveries of Albert Einstein

Albert Einstein is one of the most famous scientists of the twentieth century. It laid the foundation for a new branch of physics, and Einstein's E=mc 2 for the equivalence of mass and energy is one of the most famous formulas in the world. In 1921, he received the Nobel Prize in Physics for his contributions to theoretical physics and the evolution of quantum theory.

Einstein is also well known as an original free thinker who spoke on a range of humanitarian and global issues. Contributed to the theoretical development of nuclear physics and supported F. D. Roosevelt in launching the Manhattan Project, but Einstein later opposed the use of nuclear weapons.

Einstein, born into a Jewish family in Germany, moved to Switzerland as a young man and then, after Hitler came to power, to the United States. Einstein was a truly global man and one of the undisputed geniuses of the twentieth century. Now let's talk about everything in order.

Einstein's father, Hermann, was born in 1847 in the Swabian village of Buchau. Hermann, a Jew by nationality, had a penchant for mathematics and attended school near Stuttgart. He was unable to enter the university due to the fact that most universities were closed to Jews and subsequently began to engage in trade. Later, Hermann and his parents moved to the more prosperous city of Ulm, which prophetically had the motto “Ulmenses sunt mathematici”, which translated means: “the people of Ulm are mathematicians.” At the age of 29, Hermann married Pauline Koch, who was eleven years his junior.

Polina's father, Julius Koch, built a large fortune selling grain. Polina inherited practicality, wit, a good sense of humor and could infect anyone with laughter (she will successfully pass on these traits to her son).

German and Polina were a happy couple. Their first child was born at 11:30 am on Friday, March 14, 1879, in Ulm, a city that at that time joined, along with the rest of Swabia, to the German Reich. Initially, Polina and Hermann planned to name the boy Abraham, after his paternal grandfather. But then they came to the conclusion that this name would sound too Jewish and they decided to keep the initial letter A and named the boy Albert Einstein.

It is worth paying attention to an interesting fact that will forever be imprinted in Einstein’s memory and significantly influenced him in the future. When little Albert was 4 or 5 years old he fell ill and
the father brought him a compass so that the boy would not be bored. As Einstein would later say, he was so excited by those mysterious forces that made the magnetic needle behave as if it were influenced by hidden unknown fields. This sense of wonder and inquisitiveness of mind remained with him and motivated him throughout his life. As he said: “I still remember, or at least I believe I can remember, that that moment made a deep and lasting impression on me!”

Around the same age, his mother instilled in Einstein a love of the violin. At first he did not like harsh discipline, but after he became more familiar with the works of Mozart, music began to seem both magical and emotional to the boy: “I believe that love is a better teacher than a sense of duty,” he said, “at least at least for me.” From then on, according to statements from close friends, when the scientist was faced with difficult problems, Einstein was distracted by music and it helped him concentrate and overcome difficulties. During the game, improvising, he thought about problems, and suddenly “he suddenly stopped in the middle of the game and excitedly went to work, as if inspiration came to him,” as his relatives said.

When Albert turned 6 years old and had to choose a school, his parents did not worry that there was no Jewish school nearby. And he went to a large Catholic school nearby, in Petershule. Being the only Jew among seventy students in his class, Einstein studied well and took a standard course in the Catholic religion.

When Albert was 9 years old, he transferred to a high school near the center of Munich, the Leopold Gymnasium, which was known as an enlightened institution that intensively studied mathematics and science, as well as Latin and Greek.

In order to be accepted into the Federal Institute of Technology (later renamed ETH) in Zurich, Einstein passed the entrance exam in October 1895. However, some of his results were insufficient and, on the advice of the rector, he went to the "Kantonsschule" in the city of Aarau to improve his knowledge.

In early October 1896, Einstein received his school leaving certificate and shortly thereafter entered the Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich as a teacher of mathematics and physics. Einstein was a good student and graduated in July 1900. He then worked as an assistant at the Polytechnic Institute in Shula and other universities.

Between May 1901 and January 1902 he studied in Winterthur and Schaffhausen. Soon he moved to Bern, the capital of Switzerland. In order to earn a living, he gave private lessons in mathematics and physics.

Albert Einstein personal life

Einstein was married twice, first to his former student Mileva Maric, and then to his cousin Elsa. His marriages were not very successful. In his letters, Einstein expressed the oppression he experienced in his first marriage, describing Mileva as a domineering and jealous woman. In one of his letters, he even admitted that he wanted his youngest son Edward, who had schizophrenia, to have never been born. As for his second wife Elsa, he called their relationship a union of convenience.

Biographers studying such letters considered Einstein a cold and cruel husband and father, but in 2006, about 1,400 previously unknown letters from the scientist were published and biographers changed their view of his relationship with his wives and family in a positive direction.

In more recent letters we can find that Einstein had compassion and sympathy for his first wife and children, he even gave them part of his money from winning the Nobel Peace Prize in 1921.

Regarding his second marriage, Einstein apparently discussed his affairs openly with Elsa, and also kept her informed of his travels and thoughts.
According to Elsa, she remained with Einstein despite his shortcomings, explaining her views in a letter: “Such a genius must be flawless in every way. But nature doesn’t behave like that, if it gives extravagance, then it shows up in everything.”

But this does not mean that Einstein considered himself an exemplary family man; in one of his letters, the scientist admitted that: “I admire my father for the fact that throughout his entire life he remained with one woman. In this matter I failed twice.”

In general, for all his immortal genius, Einstein was an ordinary person in his personal life.

Einstein interesting facts from life:

• From an early age, Albert Einstein hated nationalism of any kind and preferred to be a "citizen of the world." When he was 16 years old, he renounced his German citizenship and became a Swiss citizen in 1901;
• Mileva Maric was the only female student in the Einstein section at the Zurich Polytechnic. She was passionate about mathematics and science and was a good physicist, but she gave up her ambitions after marrying Einstein and becoming a mother.
• In 1933, the FBI began maintaining a file on Albert Einstein. The case grew to 1,427 pages of various documents devoted to Einstein's collaboration with pacifist and socialist organizations. J. Edgar Hoover even recommended that Einstein be expelled from America using the Alien Exclusion Act, but the decision was overturned by the US State Department.
• Einstein had a daughter, whom he, in all likelihood, never saw in person. The existence of Leatherly (the name of Einstein's daughter) was not widely known until 1987, when a collection of Einstein's letters was published.
• Albert's second son, Edward, whom they affectionately called "Tet", was diagnosed with schizophrenia. Albert never saw his son after he immigrated to the United States in 1933. Edward died at the age of 55 in a psychiatric clinic.
• Fritz Haber was a German chemist who helped Einstein move to Berlin and became one of his close friends. In World War I, Haber developed a deadly chlorine gas that was heavier than air and could flow into trenches, burning the throats and lungs of soldiers. Haber is sometimes called the "father of chemical warfare".
• Einstein, while studying James Maxwell's electromagnetic theories, discovered that the speed of light was constant, a fact unknown to Maxwell. Einstein's discovery was a direct violation of Newton's laws of motion and led Einstein to develop the principle of relativity.
• 1905 is known as Einstein's "Year of the Miracle". This year he presented his doctoral dissertation and 4 of his works were published in one of the most famous scientific journals. The published articles were titled: Equivalence of Matter and Energy, Special Theory of Relativity, Brownian Motion, and the Photoelectric Effect. These papers ultimately changed the very essence of modern physics.

A well-known figure in the world of natural sciences, Albert Einstein (life: 1879-1955) is known even to humanists who do not like exact subjects, because the man’s surname has become a household name for people with incredible mental abilities.

Einstein is the founder of physics in its modern sense: the great scientist is the founder of the theory of relativity and the author of more than three hundred scientific works. Albert is also known as a publicist and public figure, who is an honorary doctor of about twenty higher educational institutions in the world. This man is attractive because of his ambiguity: the facts say that, despite his incredible intelligence, he was clueless in solving everyday issues, which makes him an interesting figure in the eyes of the public.

Childhood and youth

The biography of the great scientist begins with the small German city of Ulm, located on the Danube River - this is the place where Albert was born on March 14, 1879 in a poor family of Jewish origin.

The father of the brilliant physicist Herman was engaged in the production of filling mattresses with feather stuffing, but soon Albert’s family moved to the city of Munich. Hermann, together with Jacob, his brother, started a small company selling electrical equipment, which at first developed successfully, but soon could not withstand the competition of large companies.

As a child, Albert was considered a slow-witted child; for example, he did not speak until he was three years old. Parents were even afraid that their child would never learn to pronounce words when, at the age of 7, Albert could barely move his lips, trying to repeat memorized phrases. Also, the scientist’s mother Paulina was afraid that the child had a congenital deformity: the boy had a large back of the head that protruded strongly forward, and Einstein’s grandmother constantly repeated that her grandson was fat.

Albert had little contact with his peers and liked solitude more, for example, building houses of cards. From an early age, the great physicist showed a negative attitude towards war: he hated the noisy game of toy soldiers, because it personifies a bloody war. Einstein’s attitude towards war did not change throughout his later life: he actively opposed bloodshed and nuclear weapons.

A vivid memory of the genius is the compass that Albert received from his father at the age of five. Then the boy was sick, and Herman showed him an object that interested the child: what’s surprising is that the arrow on the device showed the same direction. This small object aroused incredible interest in young Einstein.

Little Albert was often taught by his uncle Jacob, who from childhood instilled in his nephew a love for the exact mathematical sciences. They read textbooks on geometry and mathematics together, and solving a problem on their own was always a joy for the young genius. However, Einstein’s mother Paulina had a negative attitude towards such activities and believed that for a five-year-old child, love for the exact sciences would not turn out to be anything good. But it was clear that this man would make great discoveries in the future.

Albert Einstein with his sister

It is also known that Albert was interested in religion from childhood; he believed that it was impossible to begin to study the universe without understanding God. The future scientist watched the clergy with trepidation and did not understand why the higher biblical mind did not stop the wars. When the boy was 12 years old, his religious beliefs sank into oblivion due to the study of scientific books. Einstein became a believer that the Bible was a highly developed system for controlling youth.

After graduating from school, Albert enters the Munich gymnasium. His teachers considered him mentally retarded due to the same speech impediment. Einstein studied only those subjects that interested him, ignoring history, literature and the German language. He had special problems with the German language: the teacher told Albert to his face that he would not graduate from school.

Albert Einstein at age 14

Einstein hated going to school and believed that the teachers themselves did not know much, but instead imagined themselves as upstarts who were allowed to do everything. Because of such judgments, young Albert constantly entered into arguments with them, so he developed a reputation as not only a backward student, but also a poor student.

Without graduating from high school, 16-year-old Albert and his family move to sunny Italy, to Milan. In the hope of entering the Federal Higher Technical School of Zurich, the future scientist sets off from Italy to Sweden on foot. Einstein managed to show decent results in the exact sciences in the exam, but Albert completely failed the humanities. But the rector of the technical school appreciated the teenager’s outstanding abilities and advised him to enter the Aarau school in Switzerland, which, by the way, was considered far from the best. And Einstein was not considered a genius at all at this school.

The best students of Aarau left to receive higher education in the German capital, but in Berlin the abilities of the graduates were poorly rated. Albert found out the texts of the problems that the director's favorites couldn't solve and solved them. After which the satisfied future scientist came to Schneider’s office, showing him the solved problems. Albert angered the head of the school by saying that he was unfairly choosing students for competitions.

After successfully completing his studies, Albert enters the educational institution of his dreams - the Zurich school. However, the relationship with the professor of the department, Weber, was bad for the young genius: the two physicists constantly fought and argued.

Beginning of a scientific career

Due to disagreements with professors at the institute, Albert's path to science was closed. He passed the exams well, but not perfectly, the professors refused the student a scientific career. Einstein worked with interest at the scientific department of the Polytechnic Institute; Weber said that his student was a smart guy, but did not take criticism.

At the age of 22, Albert received a teaching diploma in mathematics and physics. But because of the same quarrels with teachers, Einstein could not find a job, spending two years in a painful search for permanent income. Albert lived poorly and could not even buy food. The scientist's friends helped him get a job at the patent office, where he worked for quite a long time.

In 1904, Albert began collaborating with the journal Annals of Physics, gaining authority in the publication, and in 1905 the scientist published his own scientific works. But a revolution in the world of science was made by three articles of the great physicist:

• To the electrodynamics of moving bodies, which became the basis of the theory of relativity;
• The work that laid the foundation for quantum theory;
• A scientific article that made a discovery in statistical physics about Brownian motion.

Theory of relativity

Einstein's theory of relativity radically changed scientific physical concepts, which were previously based on Newtonian mechanics, which existed for about two hundred years. But only a few could fully understand the theory of relativity developed by Albert Einstein, so in educational institutions only the special theory of relativity, which is part of the general one, is taught. SRT speaks of the dependence of space and time on speed: the higher the speed of a body’s movement, the more both dimensions and time are distorted.

According to STR, time travel is possible by overcoming the speed of light, therefore, based on the impossibility of such travel, a restriction has been introduced: the speed of any object cannot exceed the speed of light. For small speeds, space and time are not distorted, so the classical laws of mechanics are applied here, and high speeds, for which the distortion is noticeable, are called relativistic. And this is only a small part of both the special and general theories of Einstein’s entire movement.

Nobel Prize

Albert Einstein was nominated for the Nobel Prize more than once, but this award bypassed the scientist for about 12 years because of his new and not everyone understood views on exact science. However, the committee decided to compromise and nominate Albert for his work on the theory of the photoelectric effect, for which the scientist was awarded the prize. All because this invention is not so revolutionary, unlike general relativity, for which Albert, in fact, was preparing a speech.

However, at the time the scientist received a telegram from the nomination committee, the scientist was in Japan, so they decided to present him with the award in 1922 for 1921. However, there are rumors that Albert knew long before the trip that he would be nominated. But the scientist decided not to stay in Stockholm at such a crucial moment.

Personal life

The life of the great scientist is covered with interesting facts: Albert Einstein is a strange man. It is known that he did not like to wear socks, and also hated brushing his teeth. In addition, he had a poor memory for simple things, such as telephone numbers.

Albert married Mileva Maric at the age of 26. Despite the 11-year marriage, the couple soon had disagreements about family life, rumored to be due to the fact that Albert was still a womanizer and had about ten passions. However, he offered his wife a contract of cohabitation, according to which she had to comply with certain conditions, for example, periodically wash things. But according to the contract, Mileva and Albert did not provide for any love relationships: the former spouses even slept separately. The genius had children from his first marriage: the youngest son died while in a psychiatric hospital, and the scientist did not have a good relationship with the eldest.

After divorcing Mileva, the scientist married Elsa Leventhal, his cousin. However, he was also interested in Elsa’s daughter, who did not have mutual feelings for a man who was 18 years older than her.

Many who knew the scientist noted that he was an unusually kind person, ready to lend a helping hand and admit mistakes.

Cause of death and memory

In the spring of 1955, during a walk, Einstein and his friend had a simple conversation about life and death, during which the 76-year-old scientist said that death is also a relief.

On April 13, Albert’s condition worsened sharply: doctors diagnosed an aortic aneurysm, but the scientist refused to operate. Albert was in the hospital, where he suddenly became ill. He whispered words in his native language, but the nurse could not understand them. The woman approached the patient’s bed, but Einstein had already died from a hemorrhage in the abdominal cavity on April 18, 1955. All his friends spoke of him as a meek and very kind person. This was a bitter loss for the entire scientific world.

Quotes

Quotes from a physicist about philosophy and life are a subject for a separate discussion. Einstein formed his own and independent view of life, which more than one generation agrees with.

• There are only two ways to live life. The first is as if miracles do not exist. The second one is like there are only miracles all around.
• If you want to lead a happy life, you must be attached to a goal, not to people or things.
• Logic can take you from point A to point B, and imagination can take you anywhere...
• If the theory of relativity is confirmed, the Germans will say that I am a German, and the French will say that I am a citizen of the world; but if my theory is refuted, the French will declare me a German, and the Germans a Jew.
• If a cluttered desk means a cluttered mind, then what does an empty desk mean?
• People cause me seasickness, not the sea. But I'm afraid science has not yet found a cure for this disease.
• Education is what remains after everything learned at school is forgotten.
• We are all geniuses. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life thinking it is stupid.
• The only thing that prevents me from studying is the education I received.
• Strive not to achieve success, but to ensure that your life has meaning.

Albert Einstein is a man of the 20th century according to Time magazine. His work revolutionized the development of fundamental physics and our view of the world. But his genius could not get by with one theory - Einstein is also the author of many patents for inventions in various countries. And even blouse designs.

Man of the Century

At the end of the twentieth century, Time magazine invited prominent politicians, social activists and artists to choose a person of the century. As a result, a list of the hundred most influential people was compiled, and Albert Einstein topped it.

There is no need to be surprised: the twentieth century is generally recognized as the century of science, and Einstein’s contribution to it is difficult to overestimate. He changed our view of space and time, matter, energy, and created a new theory of gravity. Few managed to gain popularity during their lifetime and maintain it for so many years even today.

“Drama club, photo club...”

But surprisingly, unnoticed by the general public, another side of Albert Einstein’s life also developed. While a great theoretical physicist, he was also an inventor and received more than fifty patents in different countries.

Einstein, of course, devoted most of his time to theoretical physics. But in his free time, he worked on solving mathematical problems in other fields or practical problems. Among his main works are the following: a cooling system developed together with Leo Szilard, a sound reproduction system co-authored with Rudolf Goldschmidt and an automatic camera with Gustav Baki. What's even more amazing is that Einstein holds the patent for the blouse design.

Apart from the cooling system, the rest of Einstein's patents were not widely used and are of purely historical significance. But first things first.

Diagram of the Einstein-Szilard refrigerator.

Safe refrigerator

Einstein's first patents were devoted to cooling systems, or in simple words, refrigerators. From 1926 to 1933, he worked on this problem together with Leo Szilard, an outstanding physicist of Hungarian origin and a participant in the Manhattan Project.

The basic principle of a refrigerator is simple: some coolant circulates around an object and takes away heat from it - thus cooling occurs. Most often, liquefied gas acts as a coolant. Having fulfilled its function, the gas heats up and is transferred to a large niche, where, expanding, it cools again. The refrigerant is then liquefied by a compressor and the process begins again.

In Einstein's time, toxic sulfur dioxide, methyl chloride and ammonia were used as cooling gases. Cases of poisoning and even death of entire families were not uncommon. Einstein took one of these tragedies to heart and set out to create a refrigerator that had no moving or toxic parts, eliminating the compressor and toxic gases.

Albert Einstein and Leo Szilard.

Electromagnetic heart

The basis of Einstein and Szilard's refrigerator was an electromagnetic pump, without gaskets or valves that could leak or break: instead, they proposed the concept of a human heart that pumps blood throughout the body by contracting and stretching muscles. An alloy of potassium and sodium under the influence of an alternating magnetic field undergoes periodic movements, liquefying and expanding the cooling gas.

Szilard and Einstein filed more than 45 patent applications in six different countries, but their cooling system was not widely adopted. The prototype turned out to be very noisy, and the Great Depression that followed in the 30s generally spoiled the well-being of many manufacturers. In addition, with the introduction of non-toxic freon, there was no longer a need to improve the safety of refrigerators. The invention of Einstein and Szilard, however, later found its application in the 50s, in the technology of nuclear breeder reactors.

Patent of Albert Einstein and Rudolf Goldschmidt.

Acoustic hearing aid

In 1922, Rudolf Goldschmidt, a German engineer and inventor, approached Einstein for an expert opinion on one of his developments. Since then they were in constant contact and in 1934 they patented an “Electromagnetic Sound Reproduction Apparatus.”

The history of this invention is as follows: Einstein’s friend, the outstanding singer Olga Eisner, began to lose her hearing, which is a real tragedy for any musician. Einstein asked Goldschmidt's help to create a new type of sound apparatus for her.

As a result, Einstein and Goldschmidt patented the invention with the following description: “A device specially designed for the reproduction of sound in which changes in electric current produce motion of a magnetized body due to magnetostriction.” Magnetostriction is a phenomenon that occurs, for example, if a wire is tightly wrapped around an iron core and a current is passed through it. The wire creates a magnetic field, which in turn changes the shape of the core. The vibrations of the core will correspond to the change in current strength.

The idea was to transmit the vibrations of the core through some kind of membrane that would be attached to the skull - to create an electro-acoustic hearing device. Unfortunately, Einstein-Goldschmidt’s invention did not receive further development, and subsequently electronic hearing aids were developed, which are capable of amplifying sound waves many times over. The need for electro-acoustic technologies has disappeared.

Diagram of the Einstein-Bucky chamber.

The first self-adjusting camera

Together with his longtime friend Gustav Peter Bucky, Einstein invented the self-adjusting camera. This happened several years before Kodak introduced the Super Six-20, known as the first automatic camera - although it is worth noting that Kodak and Einstein-Baki used different operating principles. The camera was an invention in which Einstein first used his own physical achievements, namely the phenomenon of the photoelectric effect, which he discovered, for which he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1921.

The camera was patented in 1936, its main feature being “adaptation to the amount of light falling on the photographic plate, depending on the illumination and the subject being photographed.” In it, light fell on a photovoltaic cell, which produces electric current under the influence of light. In this case, between the cell and the main lens there was a drum with various darkening plates. The amount of light falling on the photocell determined the angle at which the drum should turn, and what kind of filter was needed under these conditions.

Einstein's blouse.

And even a designer?

Surprisingly, it is true that Einstein was also interested in clothing design. In 1935, Gustav Baki complained to him in a letter that Emil Mayer, Einstein and Baki's attorney, had applied for a patent for waterproof clothing without their knowledge.

It is possible that this application was eventually cancelled. However, records show that Einstein received a patent for the blouse design in the United States in 1936. The Albert Einstein model is shown in the figure, and its main distinguishing features were the side slits, which also served as sleeves, and the central part, running from the collar to the waist. Unfortunately, it is not known for certain how many copies were sewn and who wore the blouse from the eminent physicist.

A sharp mind is an inventor, and reason is an observer.

G. K. Lichtenberg

Magnetostrictive loudspeaker

On January 10, 1934, the German Patent Office, based on an application filed on April 25, 1929, issued patent No. 590783 for “A device, in particular for a sound reproduction system, in which changes in electric current due to magnetostriction cause the movement of a magnetic body.” One of the two authors of the invention was Dr. Rudolf Goldschmidt from Berlin, and the other was written as follows: “Dr. Albert Einstein, formerly of Berlin; current residence unknown.”

Magnetostriction, as is known, is the effect of reducing the size of magnetic bodies (usually referring to ferromagnets) when they are magnetized. In the preamble to the patent description, the inventors write that the magnetic compression forces are hampered by the rigidity of the ferromagnet. In order to “make magnetostriction work” (in this case, to set the speaker cone into oscillatory motion), this rigidity must be somehow neutralized and compensated. Einstein and Goldschmidt offer three options for this seemingly intractable problem.

Rice. 18. Three magpitostrictive loudspeaker options

First option illustrated in Fig. 18, a. Igloo bearer WITH with diffuser ferromagnetic (iron) rod IN screwed into a strong U-shaped magnetic yoke A in such a way that the axial forces compressing the rod are very close to the critical value at which the Euler loss of stability occurs - the bending of the rod in one direction or another. Windings are put on the yoke D, through which an electric current passes, modulated by an audio signal. Thus, the stronger the sound, the more the iron rod is magnetized and therefore compressed IN. Since the rod is placed on the very edge of instability, these small variations in its length lead to strong vibrations in the vertical direction; in this case, a diffuser attached to the middle of the rod generates sound.

In second option(Fig. 18, b) the instability of the compressed spring system is used N - stock G, pointing against the hole S. The current modulated by the sound signal passes through the winding D. The time-varying magnetization of the iron rod leads to slight fluctuations in its length, which are amplified by the energy of a powerful spring losing stability.

IN third option magnetostrictive loudspeaker (Fig. 18, V) a scheme with two iron rods was used B 1 and B 2 , windings D which are connected in such a way that when the magnetization of one rod increases, the magnetization of the other decreases. With traction C 1 and WITH 2 rods connected to the rocker arm G, suspended from a rod M and attached with guy wires F to the sides of the magnetic yoke A. The rocker arm is rigidly connected to the diffuser W. Screwing the nut R on the bar M, the system is transferred to a state of unstable equilibrium. Thanks to antiphase magnetization of the rods B 1 and B 2 by a current of sound frequency, their deformations also occur in antiphase - one is compressed, the other is lengthened (the compression is weakened), and the rocker, in accordance with the sound signal, warps, turning relative to the point R. In this case, also due to the use of “hidden” instability, the amplitude of magnetostrictive oscillations increases.

X. Melcher, who got acquainted with the documents of the family of R. Goldschmidt and talked with his son, sets out the history of the appearance of this invention as follows [, p. 26].

R. Goldschmidt (1876-1950) was a good friend of Einstein. A well-known specialist in the field of electrical engineering, at the dawn of the radio era he supervised the installation of the first line of wireless telegraph communication between Europe and America (1914). In 1910, he designed and built the world's first high-frequency machine at 30 kHz with a power of 12 kW, suitable for radio engineering purposes. The machine for transatlantic transmissions already had a power of 150 kW. Goldschmidt was also the author of many inventions aimed at improving sound-reproducing devices (mainly for telephones), high-frequency resonators, etc. .

Mutual friends of Einstein and Goldschmidt were the spouses Olga and Bruno Eisner, a famous singer and a famous pianist at that time. Olga Aizner was hard of hearing - a disadvantage that was especially annoying considering her profession. Goldschmidt, as a specialist in sound-reproducing equipment, undertook to help her. He decided to design a hearing aid (work on the creation of such devices was just beginning at that time). Einstein also took part in this activity.

Whether a functioning hearing aid was ultimately constructed is unknown. As can be seen from the patent description, the inventors were fascinated by the idea of ​​​​exploiting the previously unused magnetostriction effect, and they developed the loudspeakers we described based on this effect. As far as we know, this was the first sound-reproducing magnetostrictive device. Although magnetostrictive hearing aids have not become widespread and their current counterparts operate on different principles, magnetostriction is used with great success in ultrasonic emitters, which are used in many branches of industry and technology.

For Frau Olga, as Melcher reports, they planned to create a magnetostrictive hearing aid using the phenomenon of so-called bone conduction, i.e. exciting sound vibrations not of the air column in the ear, but directly of the cranial bones, which required great power. It seems that the Einstein-Goldschmidt device fully met this requirement. Perhaps the joint activity with Goldschmidt is not so accidental and, in doing it, Einstein was guided not only by the desire to ease the fate of Frau Eisner. It seems that he could not help but be interested in the technical task itself - after all, we know that he had some experience in designing sound-reproducing devices.

Automatic camera

Talking to Rabindranath Tagore in the early 1930s, Einstein recalled his “happy Bern years” and said that while working in the patent office, he came up with several technical devices, including a sensitive electrometer (already discussed above) and a device that determines the exposure time when taking photographs. Now such a device is called a photo exposure meter.

There is almost no doubt that the operating principle of Einstein's photoexposure meter was based on the photoelectric effect. And who knows, maybe this invention was a by-product of reflections that culminated in the famous article of 1905 “On one heuristic point of view...”, in which the idea of ​​light quanta was introduced and with their help the laws of the photoelectric effect were explained.

It is curious that Einstein retained his interest in devices of this kind for a long time, although, as far as is known, he was never an amateur photographer. Thus, his authoritative biographer F. Frank reports that somewhere in the second half of the 40s, Einstein and one of his closest friends, MD G. Bucchi, “invented a mechanism to automatically adjust exposure time depending on lighting conditions”[ , With. 241.

Rice. 19. Schematic of the Bucky-Einstein camera
a, c- camera; b- variable transparency segment

In addition, it turns out that on October 27, 1936, Bucchi and Einstein received American patent No. 2058562 for a camera that automatically adjusted to the level of illumination. This automatic camera is designed quite simply (Fig. 19, A). In its front wall 1, in addition to the lens 2, there is also a window 3, through which light falls on the photocell 4. The electric current generated by the photocell rotates the light (for example, celluloid) ring segment 5 located between the lens lenses, blackened so that its transparency smoothly changes from maximum at one end to minimum at the other (Fig. 19, b). As Bukchi and Einstein point out in the description of their invention, the block with the photocell is similar to the known designs of photoexposure meters, with the difference that in this case the ring segment 5 is rotated, and not the arrow indicating the exposure. The rotation of the segment is greater, and, consequently, the darkening of the lens is greater, the brighter the object is illuminated. Thus, once adjusted, the device, under any illumination, itself regulates the amount of light falling on the photographic film or plate located in the focal plane of the lens 2.

But what if the photographer wants to change the aperture? For this, the inventors offer a slightly more complicated version of their camera (Fig. 19, V). In this version, on its front wall 1 a rotary disk is installed 6 with a set of holes 7-12 several diameters. When the disk is rotated, one of these holes falls on the lens, and the diametrically opposite one falls on the photocell window. Turning the disc by the lever 13 at fixed angles, the photographer simultaneously apertures both the lens and the window. Thus, for different apertures, the same light transmission is achieved for the lens and for the photocell window.

The advantages of the invention are obvious: 1) the light flux reaching the photographic film or photographic plate is automatically adjusted; 2) since a photocell is used, there is no danger that after some, albeit long, time, the adjusting device will stop working, as would be the case if a battery was used to power it (however, the authors do not exclude the possibility of using a selenium photoresistor as a photosensitive element, connected to an external power source).

We do not have precise information about the further fate of the Einstein-Goldschmidt magnetostriction apparatus. But it is definitely known that the Bucky-Einstein exposure meter was at one time very popular and was even used by cameramen in Hollywood.

Here it is probably worth saying a few words about Einstein’s friend Dr. Bucca (1880-1965). He was born in Leipzig and graduated from the medical faculty of the university there. First in Germany, and then in the USA, he gained fame as a prominent radiologist. Bukchi was a member of many national and international societies and wrote a number of books on medicine. In addition to X-rays, Bukchi showed a keen interest in the therapeutic use of new advances in physics and technology (he is one of the pioneers of UHF heating).

Bukki also worked actively as an inventor. Back in 1912, he proposed and designed the so-called Bucca diaphragm, which increases the contrast of X-ray images. This device has become widespread all over the world. Bucca is credited with many other inventions related to X-ray technology, cameras, electrical measuring instruments and sound-reproducing devices. Interestingly, many of Bukki’s patents were obtained by him together with his wife and sons.

There is evidence that Einstein and Bucchi were thinking about the design of an altimeter, and also invented something like a tape recorder. Unfortunately, more detailed information about these works is not available.

Bukki, as Einstein wrote to G. Muhsam in 1942 [, p. 50], was his best friend in the USA. They often spent summer vacations together and sailed on Einstein's yacht, and Bukki had to be content with the not very prestigious role of a sailor. But he was a sailor - albeit the only one - on Captain Einstein's ship!

During the last days of Einstein's life in April 1955, Bukchi came daily to the hospital where his friend was lying. He visited him in the evening a few hours before the death of the great physicist. According to Bucca's recollections, the last thing he heard from Einstein was a sad joke. “Why are you leaving already?”- Einstein asked him. Bukki replied that he did not want to bother him, that he should rest and sleep. To this Einstein replied with a smile: “But in that case, your presence won’t bother me.”[ , With. 65].

Gyrocompasses and induction electromagnetic suspension

From Einstein's correspondence with Besso, Sommerfeld and Planck it is clear that during 1920-1926. Einstein often visited Kiel. It would seem that the creator of the theory of relativity had nothing to do with theoretical research in Kiel, the capital of German shipbuilding. What was he doing there?

The first approximation to the answer to this question comes from a letter from Einstein to M. Besso, sent in May 1925: “...I lead a quiet life without external events. The only breaks are my trips to Kiel, where I gradually brush up on my technical skills.”[ , With. 7]. In Neumühlen, near Kiel, the company Anschutz and Co. was located, a leading company in the development and production of marine gyrocompasses and other gyro-instruments. The name of its founder, owner and leader G. Anschutz (1872-1931) is often found in Einstein’s correspondence with Sommerfeld. It makes sense to talk about this interesting person, who for many years had close business and friendly relations with Einstein (especially since we will talk about him in the next section of this chapter).

Hermann Anschutz was born into a prominent Munich family; “art and science stood at his cradle”[ , With. 667]: his grandfather was a prominent artist, a professor at the Munich Academy of Arts, and his father was a professor of physics and mathematics. Anschutz began his career as a humanitarian - he received his PhD in 1896 for research on the work of Venetian Renaissance artists. Then carried away by the idea of ​​​​reaching the North Pole, he participates in two polar expeditions and at the beginning of 1901 expresses the idea that it is possible to get to the Pole by submarine. A problem arises: how to plot a course - after all, a magnetic compass does not work inside a steel boat, and also near the pole. And the humanitarian Anschutz takes on the solution of a fantastically complex problem - the creation of a gyrocompass.

This work, alien to his previous inclinations and to some extent accidentally encountered on the path of the addicted Anschutz, becomes the main one in his life. He refuses further polar travel (the North Pole was soon conquered by R. Peary), but persistently deals with the problem of the gyrocompass. Already in October 1902 he created the first model. Anschutz reported on further successes in this direction and on the first tests of the gyrocompass on ships at the Naval Academy in Kiel in 1904, and the following year, being not only an energetic but also wealthy man, he founded the company “Anschutz and Co.” in Kiel. . The prosperity of the company was largely determined by the exceptional talent of its creator, whom K. Magnus (a prominent German mechanic, a specialist in gyrocompasses) calls a brilliant inventor [, p. 98].

It is interesting that success in creating a gyrocompass was achieved by a person who began work as an amateur. This is in perfect agreement with Einstein’s remark about how discoveries are made: everyone knows that the implementation of a certain idea is impossible, but here comes a person who does not know this, and everything works out for him!

As a result of the energetic efforts of Anschutz, the organizer and inventor, in the mid-1910s the German fleet, including the submarine fleet, was equipped with gyrocompasses that received his name. Anschutz's gyro devices have found other applications, for example, in laying boreholes and constructing mines; his gyrocompass was installed on the famous airship “Graf Zeppelin”. During one of the flights, the airship made a lap of honor over the Anschutz house in Munich in recognition of the services of its owner. By the way, Sommerfeld called this house “an incomparable temple of art”: Anschutz was a famous collector.

Anschutz's work and his gyrocompasses became widely known not only in his homeland, but also abroad, in particular in our country. Academician A. N. Krylov spoke about them with high praise.

Anschutz's company brought its founder significant income, which he used to create numerous funds designed to assist scientists and artists. Exhibitions, lectures, and trips of scientists were organized with his funds. During the difficult inflationary times of Germany in the early 1920s, Einstein also used funds from the Anschutz Foundation.

By 1926, after many years of hard work, the Anschutz company developed and put into mass production a very complex and advanced gyroscopic device - a precision artillery-navigation gyrocompass, which was given the name “New Anschutz” (since another gyrocompass of the same type was previously popular in the navy firms). It was a truly remarkable device, significantly superior in accuracy, reliability, stability during motion and service life to all other models of gyrocompasses. Its design was highly appreciated by experts; it was also a purely commercial success [, p. 46; , With. 225; ].

In articles and books on gyrocompasses, at least somewhat related to the history of the creation of these wonderful devices, the fact that Einstein took part in the development of the “New Anschutz” is certainly noted. Perhaps, one of the founders of the gyrocompass business in our country, engineer-rear admiral Professor B.I. Kudrevich *, spoke with the greatest certainty on this matter, noting that the “New Anschutz” - “the result of ten years of collaboration(G. Anschutz. - Auto. ) with Professor Einstein." As Professor I.I. Gurevich told one of the authors of this book, in the 30s in the navy a new navigation device was even called the Einstein-Anschutz compass (in that order).

* Kudrevich had first-hand information: at the beginning of 1928 he was sent to Germany, in particular to familiarize himself with the activities of the company Anschutz and Co. [, p. 7].

Thus, the reason for Einstein's frequent visits to Kiel seems to be beyond doubt - he collaborated with Anschutz in the development of a miracle compass. But what was Einstein's specific contribution to this work? Unfortunately, little is known about this. We came across only one direct instruction, coming from the already mentioned above K. Magnus * : “The centering of the ball, on the advice of A. Einstein, with whom Anschutz was friends, was carried out magnetically using a coil located inside the gyrosphere”[ , With. 99].

* This indication is given particular credibility by the fact that Magnus was a student of M. Schuler, one of the founders of the gyrocompass business, who held senior positions in the Apschutz company from 1908 to 1922.

What are we talking about here, what kind of gyrosphere is this? Here we need to tell you at least a little about the design of the “New Anschutz”.

This gyroscopic device is two-rotor - it is mechanically connected to the mutually perpendicular axes of two rotors rotating at a speed of 20,000 rpm, each weighing 2.3 kg (these gyroscopic rotors are also rotors of two- and three-phase asynchronous AC motors). Both gyroscopes (rotors) are placed inside a hollow, sealed sphere (which is why it is called a gyrosphere), which, in addition to them, contains a number of other structural elements.

When most of us hear the word “gyroscope,” we probably picture a well-known device with a rapidly rotating rotor, the axis of which is fixed in the rings of a gimbal. Of course, the cardan suspension, which provides the rotor with complete freedom of rotation around three mutually perpendicular axes (Fig. 20), is an unusually ingenious find. But such a suspension is not suitable for a seaworthy gyrocompass: the compass must point strictly to the north for months, and not go astray during storms, or during accelerations and changes in the ship’s course. However, it is impossible to precisely balance the rotor's cardan suspension; the gyroscope will always be subject to rotational moments, under the influence of which the rotor axis will rotate around an axis perpendicular to the vector of the acting torque. One of the features of the gyroscope is that it integrates and accumulates such shock deviations.

Rice. 20. Gyroscope with three degrees of freedom

As a result, over time, the rotor axis (namely, it is this that is the analogue of a magnetic compass needle in a gyrocompass) will rotate, or, as sailors say, “go away.” It is not for nothing that gyroscopicists like to tell an anecdote about how, at the dawn of gyrocompass business, one such device was installed on an airplane. When the plane took off from Berlin and landed in Holland, the pilot, based on the gyrocompass readings, was sure that he had arrived in Switzerland.

In the “New Anschutz” there are no cardan rings - a gyrosphere with a diameter of 25 cm with two gyroscopes (a two-gyroscope system with regard to pitching is incomparably more stable than a single-gyroscope system) floats freely in a liquid, the friction of which is practically zero; from the outside it does not touch any supports, walls, etc. Electrical wires don’t even fit into it: after all, they are capable of transmitting some kind of mechanical forces and moments. Naturally, the reader may have a legitimate question: from what, in this case, are the electric motors of the gyroscopes “powered”? The solution found to this problem cannot be denied ingenuity: the gyrosphere has “polar caps” and an “equatorial belt” made of electrically conductive material. Opposite these electrodes in the liquid there are similar but stationary electrodes to which the power supply phases are connected. The liquid in which the sphere floats is water, to which a little glycerin has been added to give it antifreeze properties and an acid to make the water electrically conductive. Thus, three-phase current is “supplied” into the gyrosphere directly through the liquid supporting it, and then from the inside (via wires) it is routed to the stator windings of the gyroscope motors. In this case, of course, one has to come to terms with some “mixing” of the phases in the electrically conductive liquid.

A gyrosphere freely floating in a liquid, if we did not know that it is stuffed with gyroscopes, might seem like a miracle: it stubbornly and with great precision is set by one of its diameters in the north-south direction (sailors determine this direction by the divisions marked on it ). However, this miracle is akin to the miracle of the “spontaneous” orientation of the magnetic needle, which so deeply amazed Einstein, as he admitted, in early childhood.

But how can a gyrosphere float in a supporting fluid in a completely submerged and indifferent state? To do this, according to Archimedes’ law, an absolutely precise balance must be maintained between its weight and the weight of the displaced solution. It is very difficult to maintain such a balance, but even if it is achieved, the inevitable temperature fluctuations in this case (and, consequently, changes in specific gravities) will certainly upset it. As a result, the ball will either emerge or go to the bottom. In addition, it is still necessary to somehow center the gyrosphere in the horizontal direction, otherwise it will stick to one of the walls of the surrounding vessel and, thus, will be vulnerable to shocks and accelerations, so detrimental to the accuracy of the readings.

It is at this stage of the explanation of the structure of the “New Anschutz” that Magnus’s above phrase about Einstein’s design contribution to the creation of the gyrocompass finally becomes clear to us. Einstein figured out how to center the gyrosphere in the vertical and horizontal directions. His idea is quite simple (Fig. 21).

Rice. 21. Einstein induction suspension circuit

Near the bottom, a ring winding is placed inside the gyrosphere, connected to one of the phases of the alternating current supplied to the ball, while the gyrosphere itself is surrounded by another hollow metal sphere (with slots for observing the scale divisions and to reduce its short-circuiting effect in relation to currents passing through the liquid ).

The alternating magnetic field created by the internal winding of the gyrosphere induces eddy currents in the surrounding sphere, for example, aluminum. According to Lenz's law, these currents tend to prevent the change in magnetic flux that would occur with any displacement of the inner sphere relative to the outer one. In this case, the gyrosphere is automatically stabilized. If, for example, as a result of an increase in temperature, it begins to sink (after all, the specific gravity of the liquid when heated due to its expansion decreases), the gap between the bottom parts of the spheres will decrease, the repulsive forces will increase (they are inversely proportional to the square of the gap width), so that the gyrosphere will not shift in height , but will remain in the old place. The gyrosphere is similarly stabilized in the horizontal direction.

We see that the alternating electromagnetic field of the Einstein winding centers and supports the gyrosphere; it takes on that part of its weight that is not compensated by the Archimedean buoyancy force. It is not for nothing that the designers called this winding the winding of “electromagnetic blowing”: just as an air cushion is created by air pumped by a fan, so electromagnetic support can be figuratively imagined by “blowing” a winding of magnetic lines of force.

In various branches of modern technology, suspension methods that eliminate friction and contact, in which the suspended object floats, or, as is now often said, levitates, are increasingly widely used. There are magnetic and electrostatic suspensions; Superconducting magnetic suspension is attracting a lot of attention these days (its action is based on the fact that the superconductor “does not let in” the magnetic field), which in the near future is planned to be used in high-speed ground transport systems.

It would be strange if modern technology bypassed eddy current suspension. And indeed, such a suspension is now commonly called induction electromagnetic [, p. 57] - used. The so-called crucibleless melting of metals and semiconductors is now increasingly used, based on the fact that the melted mass is held by the alternating electromagnetic field of the coil (inductor) located underneath it, through which high-frequency alternating current passes. This same alternating magnetic field, inducing powerful eddy currents, melts the substance. In this way, high-purity silicon, germanium, aluminum, tin, as well as refractory metals and alloys for which it is impossible to create crucibles for melting, are obtained (after all, melting takes place in a vacuum and there is no hot crucible - a usual source of contamination).

With the penetration of levitation into technology, interest arose in systematizing the corresponding devices and in collecting the literature available on this issue (not yet very extensive). In 1964, in England, in a series of bibliographic reviews on components of instruments and devices, one was published specifically dedicated to magnetic and electric suspensions, which apparently collected all the information available at that time on such systems, starting with a report read in 1839 in Cambridge S. Earnshaw, “On the nature of the molecular forces governing the state of the luminiferous ether,” a report in which Earnshaw’s famous theorem on the impossibility of stationary suspension of bodies in a constant electric or magnetic field was formulated.

What does this solid bibliographic review tell us about the history of induction electromagnetic suspension? Who should be considered its inventor? The review does not answer the last question. The fact is that such a pendant was first described in an application received by the German Patent Office on February 2, 1922, which, as often happens, came not from a private individual, but from a company. However, the name of this company is of considerable interest to us - it is the well-known Nile company “Anschutz and Co.” [, p. 61].

We have no reason to doubt the reliability of the information reported by Magnus about Einstein’s participation in the creation of the “New Anschutz,” which means that the great theorist, creator of “both relativities” can without any stretch be considered the inventor of the induction electromagnetic suspension.

It seems that many of Einstein’s design ideas were tried and implemented in Anschutz’s gyroscopic devices (after all, it was not for nothing that he visited Kiel so often and for many years!). It would, of course, be interesting to know what else his participation involved. But time passes, there are apparently no witnesses left to his work in Kiel, and it is becoming increasingly difficult to reconstruct the course of events.

In the difficult 20s for Germany, with their rampant inflation and instability, Einstein was also interested in working on gyroscopic devices simply for material reasons. It seems certain, however, that he enjoyed this activity. He always had plenty of ideas, and the most original ones, and Anschutz could provide more opportunities for their implementation than anyone else. The ardent gyroscope enthusiast had sufficient funds, excellent equipment and highly qualified engineers to try to implement completely unexpected and unconventional design solutions.

Sunspots and integrator

X. Melcher, apparently, was the first of the historians of physics to draw attention to Einstein’s short note “Method for determining the statistical values ​​of observations relating to quantities subject to irregular fluctuations,” published in 1914 in a rather little-known Swiss natural science journal. This note is the text of a message Einstein made on February 28, 1914 at the conference of the Swiss Physical Society in Basel. The meeting was chaired by the venerable P. Weiss; prominent physicists were M. Laue, F. Braun, and W. Gerlach.

From the first sentence of the message: “Let us assume that the value y=F(t) , for example, the number of sunspots is determined empirically as a function of time...”- it seems clear that the author’s stated considerations were prompted by reflections on the problem of sunspots. What is the reason for Einstein's interest in this problem? Switzerland has long been a leader in sunspot research. R. Wolf (1816-1896), since 1847 director of the Berne Observatory, and since 1864 of the Zurich Observatory, can rightfully be called the founder of sunspot statistics. In 1852, he established their 11-year periodicity, as well as the connection of this periodicity with fluctuations in the geomagnetic field [, p. 55]. Wolf's work was continued and significantly expanded by his successor at the Zurich Observatory, A. Wolfer (1854-1931). In 1894, Wolfer also held the post of professor of astronomy at the Zurich Polytechnic (and the University of Zurich), where he read “Introduction to the physics of celestial bodies”, “Introduction to astronomy”, “Celestial mechanics”, “Geographical location” [, p. 26]. His not very diligent student was Einstein, who studied at the Polytechnic from 1896 to 1900. Wolfer’s disciplines were among the compulsory ones [, p. 26], on the final exam Einstein received a 5 in astronomy with a maximum score of 6 [, p. 46].

During his student years, Wolfer's lectures clearly did not captivate Einstein. In the 10s (at which time he was already a professor at the Polytechnic), when his students told him that they were listening to Wolfer’s lectures, Einstein was surprised: “Do you really visit them?” The biographer of the great physicist K. Zelig explains: “Professor Wolfer... his lectures were not brilliant. Therefore, Einstein’s question was not unreasonable.”[ , With. 132].

As you know, after graduating from the Polytechnic, Einstein was left without work and for two years did odd jobs. It is to this rather bleak period of his life that the following fact reported by Zelig relates: "He(Einstein. - Auto. ) earned some money by performing calculations necessary for the study of sunspots on the instructions of the director of the Swiss Astronomical Observatory, Professor Wolfer.”[ , With. 47]. According to M. Laue, Einstein’s Zurich colleague in 1912-1914, “until the autumn of 1901 he(Einstein. - Auto. )supported his modest existence by calculations that he performed for the Zurich astronomer Wolfer.”[ , With. 10].

There is no doubt that the fruits of this activity of Einstein, if such an expression is permissible, were “integrated” in a solid series of publications by Wolfer in 1900-1902, devoted to the statistical processing of a huge array of numerical data on sunspots obtained by observatories in Switzerland and other countries (including Russia) ; Wolfer's articles, among other things, also attempted to find empirical patterns in the movement of sunspots and analyzed the fascinating problem of correlations between changes in their number over time and variations in the Earth's magnetic field and climatic conditions.

It is hardly surprising that no mention of the name of the young calculator can be found in these publications (we looked through the corresponding volumes of the “Quarterly Journal of the Zurich Society of Naturalists”). Nevertheless, it seems that Einstein did not act as an “animate adding machine.” In any case, there is evidence (including the commented publication) that collaboration with Wolfer aroused in him a keen interest in the problem of sunspots.

But why did the note regarding sunspots appear precisely at the beginning of 1914 (or perhaps at the end of 1913)? It is very interesting that such a direct and categorical question can be answered with enviable certainty!

In the list of dissertations defended at the Zurich Polytechnic for the period from 1909 (in this year Poli gained the right to award academic degrees) to 1971, it is indicated that in 1913 a certain Elsa Frenkel defended her thesis for the degree of Doctor of Mathematics entitled “Research on short-period fluctuations in sunspot frequency” * . It is also indicated that the “referent” at the defense was Wolfer, and the “core referent” was Einstein.

* All necessary links for this episode of Einstein’s scientific biography are given in the article.

In response to our request for relevant documents from the library of the Zurich Polytechnic, we were sent * two extracts from the minutes of the meetings of the academic council of the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics of the Polytechnic and a copy of Frenkel's dissertation work (we were also informed that the recordings of the speeches of Wolfer and Einstein had not been preserved).

* The authors are grateful for the kind assistance of the director of the library of the Zurich Polytechnic, Dr. I.-P. Sidler, head of historical and scientific collections Dr. B. Glaus and library employee Dr. Kh.T. Lutshtorf.

The first protocol extract states that on May 26, 1913, Wolfer and Einstein were instructed to prepare reviews of Frenkel’s dissertation, and the second states that at a meeting on July 11, 1913. “The Council, having heard the recommendations of Messrs. Professors Wolfer and Einstein, decided to apply for the award of an academic degree to Ms. Frenkel.” The title page of Frenkel's short (32 page) dissertation contains the names Wolfer and Einstein. The introductory part of the work contains the doctoral student’s gratitude to her supervisor Wolfer and her brief autobiography, which states that Frenkel was born in 1888 in the canton of Thurgau (Switzerland), from 1908 to July 1912 she studied at the Zurich Polytechnic, and from September 1912. (just at this time Einstein became a professor at the Polytechnic) worked under Wolfer as a second assistant at the Polytechnic observatory.

The task of Frenkel's work was to establish, on the basis of observational data collected over several decades, whether, along with the known long-period (with a period of 11 years and possibly 8.3 and 4.8 years) fluctuations in the number of sunspots, there are other regular variations with significantly shorter periods. Such variations (with periods of 200 and 68.5 days) were identified, but with far from complete certainty. Frenkel used all three methods of similar calculations proposed at that time (including the periodogram method proposed by the famous English physicist A. Schuster, who worked a lot on the problem of sunspot periodicity) and came to the conclusion that all these methods, at least in relation to her problem , are not sufficiently satisfactory - the low degree of reliability of the results obtained does not justify the enormous amount of computational work.

It seems that it was this conclusion that prompted Einstein to search for a more effective (and, in accordance with his way of thinking, more universal) method, which would also allow him to reduce the amount of “manual” calculations, the complexity of which he was well aware of from his own experience. Einstein's consideration is based on the methods of the theory of Fourier series (or, more precisely, harmonic analysis). He used similar methods in two works carried out in 1910 together with L. Hopf, which examined the statistical aspects of electromagnetic radiation. Einstein’s words are connected with this circumstance that “the answer... is suggested by the theory of radiation.”

Found for function F(t) the dependence was an integral, which could only be determined numerically (not analytically). Einstein reports that he consulted his friend P. Habicht regarding the possibilities of a mechanical integrator. It is clear that Habicht, as an instrument maker, could quite fully describe to Einstein the capabilities of the then mechanical integrators. At the same time, it is appropriate to add that in those days it was his hometown of Schaffhausen that occupied a leading position in the development and production of these mechanical computing devices (however, this position currently remains).

In 1854 J. Amsler (1823-1912), in 1851-1852. who read mathematics and physics at the University of Zurich, and then became a teacher of mathematics at the Schafhausen Gymnasium, became famous for the invention of the “polar planimeter” - a device that, to use a common old phrase, can be described as “forming an era” in the development of mechanical integrators. Subsequently, Amsler developed a number of useful and ingenious devices and earned, at least in his homeland, a reputation as an outstanding inventor (it is interesting that, as an expert on small arms, Amsler visited St. Petersburg in the late 60s).

In the same 1854, when the “polar planimeter” was invented, Amsler founded a company in Schaffhausen to produce this device, which then began to produce its successively improved versions, mechanical correlators, integragraphs and other precision mechanical computing devices. Amsler & Co. Schaffhausen” is still well known to specialists today. It is very possible that P. Gabicht had some connection with this company or, in any case, was well acquainted with its products.

It seems that Einstein, who was fond of technical design, was impressed by the non-routine, simple and in its own way very elegant solution - to use a mechanical integrating machine to find the periodic dependence “distorted” by fluctuations. And this is probably the main reason that his thoughts on the problem of the mechanical integrator did not end after his speech in Basel.

In the spring of 1914, Einstein moved from Zurich to Berlin; on October 30, he spoke there at a meeting of the German Physical Society with a report “Criterion for the recognition of periodic processes.” However, he limited himself to only an oral report; the text of the report was not presented to him.

As we learn from the Einstein materials of the Berlin archives published in 1979, on the same day, October 30, 1914, Einstein wrote a letter to the prominent German geophysicist, honorary professor of the University of Berlin (since 1907) A. Schmidt, who was also present at the meeting of the Society (1860-1944).

“I am very grateful to you,- it says at the beginning of this letter, - for your exhaustive explanations at the last meeting and for forwarding the description of your so excellently functioning apparatus. In the meantime, colleague Berliner * was kind enough to forward ** your work on the correlation coefficient to me. I see that the essence of my proposal is not new and there is no reason for publication. Therefore, I am sending you my manuscript so that you, as a well-informed specialist, can evaluate whether it contains anything new in any respect. The only reason I am turning to you with such an immodest request is that my manuscript is only 3.5 pages, so it will only take a little time.” .

* A. Berliner (1860-1942) - German physicist, founder and publisher of the journal “Naturwissenschaften”.

** The efficiency is noteworthy: Einstein received the materials he was interested in from Schmidt and Berliner on the day of his report!

Next, Einstein talks about the mechanical calculation of integrals of type m y 1 y 2 dx not by introducing into the integrator additional integrals of type m in comparison with the case of ydx frictional connection, but as the difference of integrals t( y 1 +y 2 ) 2 dx and t( y 1 -y 2 ) 2 dx . Noting that the constructive implementation of a mechanism operating on this principle does not seem particularly difficult to him, Einstein turns to Schmidt with a proposal to discuss these issues at a meeting ( “If you have the desire and time”) and asks for leniency in advance: “...because I am at best an amateur in these matters.”

Schmidt responded the next day. At the beginning of his letter, he told Einstein that he had also somehow obtained a “new” result, which, as it turned out by chance later, had been derived 50 years before him, but was not mentioned in any reference book. "However,- Schmidt's letter further said, - It seems to me that your work - with some instructions added at the beginning - is still worthy of publication and it would be a pity if you took it away.” According to Schmidt, the two provisions contained in Einstein’s work are not new in themselves (for example, one of the functions he introduced coincides with the well-known periodogram of A. Schuster). However, what is new is the connection between these provisions established by Einstein. This Einstein result, according to Schmidt, generally speaking, does not provide much for practical calculations, but from the theoretical side it is interesting and in a number of special cases can even be used in specific calculations.

The Soviet mathematician A.M. rated Einstein’s short note much more highly. Yaglom, who commented on it in detail in 1986. Yaglom (see also) comes to the conclusion that “Schmidt failed to properly appreciate originality and importance.” Einstein's work, “I obviously didn’t understand” the novelty and fruitfulness of the approaches proposed in it and your feedback, “apparently, he finally discouraged Einstein from any desire to further deal with the issues of processing fluctuating series of observations.” Meanwhile, according to Yaglom, in “a little masterpiece” In 1914, such important concepts for the modern theory of random processes as correlation and cross-correlation functions appeared for the first time, as well as the fundamental Wiener-Khinchin theorem, now well known to specialists, which was rediscovered fifteen years later. To be fair, this statement should be renamed the “Einstein-Wiener-Khinchin theorem.”

As for mechanical integrators, considerable progress has been achieved towards their widespread introduction into the practice of processing fluctuating observation series. However, in these days of the all-out offensive of computers, these elegant and ingenious devices are inexorably pushed into the background.

Quartz thread connects four Nobel laureates

When Einstein received a chair at Poly in 1912, more and more scientists began to visit Zurich to meet, discuss, consult with the rising star of theoretical physics, or even simply to receive Einstein’s help in solving a particular physical problem (see, for example, , ). The German chemist, future Nobel laureate F. Haber, who had already won wide recognition by that time, also needed such help. For his planned experiments, he needed a gas pressure meter below 0.01 mm Hg, or, in modern terms, a vacuum gauge.

Nowadays, you cannot find, perhaps, a single physical laboratory that does not have such vacuum gauges; moreover, they are widely used in many industrial technologies. But in the years described, scientists and inventors were still just groping for the physical principles and design schemes of these very useful devices. Haber decided to follow the path proposed in 1913 by another future Nobel laureate, one of the classics of vacuum science, the American physicist I. Langmuir. The idea was to determine the degree of rarefaction by the decay rate of a quartz thread attached at one end. Langmuir's device, built by him to measure the residual pressure in the evacuated flasks of tungsten incandescent lamps, was a thin (0.05-0.5 mm in diameter) hair 7-8 cm long made of quartz filament, soldered into the bottom of a glass tube. When tapped with a finger, the hair began to tremble, and the amplitude of vibrations was monitored using a simple optical device. The better the vacuum, the weaker the residual gases inhibit the movement of the quartz filament and the slower the vibrations die out. Usually, the half-damping time (i.e., halving the amplitude) of oscillations was measured, which in Langmuir’s experiments reached almost two hours. In this way, the American physicist was able to measure (or, at least, estimate) rarefaction of up to several hundred thousandths of a millimeter of mercury.

A similar device was manufactured at the Berlin Institute of Physics and Chemistry. Kaiser Wilhelm F. Haber and his collaborator F. Korschbaum. Deciding not to rely on blind empirics, Haber and Kershbaum, based on elementary considerations of the kinetic theory of gases, derived a simple formula for the connection between the recorded half-damping time of oscillations and the amount of residual pressure to be measured. For the braking force that determines the decay rate, they obtained the expression

F = Apu(M/RT) 1/2 ,

Where R And M - pressure and molecular weight of the residual gas, R - universal gas constant, u is the component of the velocity of thermal movement of the molecules of the residual gas normal to the filament, and A - a constant depending on the geometry of the vibrating hair and the nature of the interaction of molecules with its surface.

To simplify the calculations, Haber and Kershbaum likened the thread to a thin plate and assumed that the normal component of the velocity And is the same for all molecules. So they found

A= (4/(3) 1/2 )dL

Where d And L - thickness and length of the thread, respectively.

Knowing full well that the approximations they made were very rough, the experimenters did not feel sufficiently confident in the results obtained. Therefore, it was decided to seek the opinion of physicists more competent in theoretical calculations. The choice fell on two other future Nobel laureates - M. Born and A. Einstein.

Both experts confirmed the validity of the Haber and Kershbaum formula for the braking (or damping) force F, but for a constant A they obtained slightly different expressions. Both of them, of course, were able to take into account that the thread is not a flat plate, but a cylinder of circular cross-section, and also that the speeds of the molecules are not the same, but obey the Maxwell distribution.

Born, who carried out calculations under the assumption that the molecules bombarding the thread are reflected from it absolutely elastically and specularly, obtained

A= 2(2) 1/2 p rL,

Where r - thread radius. Einstein, who proceeded from the proposal that molecules are reflected diffusely from the thread, i.e. from all sorts of angles, came to the expression

A = (p /2) 1/2 (3+p /2)rL.

Haber and Kerschbaum placed Einstein's calculations as an appendix to their article dated March 26, 1914 G.*.

* There is evidence that may indicate that this question was posed to Einstein Haber in the fall of 1913, when the latter was in Switzerland. At the end of September 1913, at the invitation of Einstein, the young German astronomer E. Freundlich came to Zurich (to discuss the possibilities of experimental testing of the general theory of relativity) with his fiancée. For the rest of her life, Frau Freundlich remembered the eccentric couple who met her at the Zurich station: a short man (Haber) and a tall man who seemed next to him in some kind of lopsided sports attire and in an incredible straw hat (Einstein) [, p. 207].

For the case of specific parameters of the Haber and Kershbaum device, the results of the three calculations did not differ too much. According to Born, the constant A exceeded the value found simplified by 10%, and according to Einstein - by 17%. The calculations made by Born and Einstein, probably on the back of an envelope, as they say, were rechecked 40 and 50 years later, respectively, using significantly more advanced calculation methods. Despite this, both Born’s result and Einstein’s under the assumptions they made were completely confirmed [, p. 222-227; .

At the same time, it is also worth saying that here we are in no way talking about the rediscovery of the forgotten. On the contrary, the results of the calculations of Born and Einstein from the very beginning until the 60s were in the field of view of the relevant specialists and served them a certain service.

And finally, concluding this episode, we will suggest that Einstein himself probably retained an interest in molecular kinetic problems of similar problems for a long time, closely related to the classical problem of W. Crookes’ radiometer. This, in particular, is evidenced by the article “On the Theory of Radiometers”, published in “Annalen der Physik” in the fall of 1922. This work, carried out at the University of Zurich, contains author's thanks “Professor Dr. A. Einstein for encouraging the research.” It is noteworthy that the author of the article is Einstein's cousin Edith Einstein (1880-1968), the daughter of his uncle Jacob, who once supported the scientific and technical aspirations of his young and promising nephew.

Other technical interests

A.F. Joffe recalls: “When I recognized him in the 20s(Einstein. - Auto.) closer, it turned out that the tendencies of invention were strong in him. Together with the artist Orlik and the dentist Grünberg, Einstein developed a new type of printing machine for artistic graphics.”[ , With. 71]. In the archive of A.F. Ioffe, among the pencil sketches made by Orlik, found one that depicts Dr. Grunberg surrounded by some strange creatures. According to the testimony of the widow A.F. Ioffe, A.V. Ioffe, who knew Orlik and Grunberg, this drawing was printed on the Orlik-Grunberg-Einstein printing machine.

Emil Orlik (1870-1932) - Czech graphic artist and engraver of the post-impressionist and symbolist movements, was well known in the first decades of our century. He was drawn to experimentation and invention in the field of applied fine arts, in particular, he developed an original technique of color wood engraving. His classic engravings of Bach, Kant, Mahler, and Richard Strauss are well known. The artist also painted physicists, in particular Einstein and Ioffe. One of the drawings depicts Einstein sitting on a chair and playing the violin. He looks a little plump. In 1928, Einstein wrote a comic signature under this drawing, which in German sounds like this [, p. 28]:

Everyone knows that Einstein loved music and played the violin beautifully. It is less known that here, too, he had his own technical ideas. Soviet physicist Yu.B. Rumer says that when he visited Einstein in his Berlin apartment in 1929, their conversation was suddenly interrupted. To the office “A man with a long gray beard entered - a violin maker. A completely professional conversation began: Einstein said that the deck should be done this way, and the master said that such and such.” When the master left, Einstein said with a breath: “Oh, you don’t know how much this man takes up my time!”[ , With. 434].

But the violin was not the only musical instrument that interested Einstein. Soviet physicist L.S. Theremin , one of the pioneers of electronic music, recalls that Einstein was present at the demonstration in New York of the theremin vox* he invented, who then spoke with great praise of the new instrument (this assessment appeared on the pages of American newspapers). Einstein more than once came to Theremin's studio in New York, played the violin accompanied by a Theremin vox, and tried to play it himself to the accompaniment of his wife Elsa, a good pianist. Theremin at that time was interested in light music, which also aroused Einstein's interest.

* Musical pieces can be played on this instrument without touching any keys. Smooth hand movements change the capacitance and inductance of the open oscillating circuit of the generator and modulate the sound.

Perhaps the theremin vox attracted Einstein not only with its sound palette, but also with its technical solution: after all, it was a musical instrument without mechanical moving parts - just like the Szilard-Einstein refrigerator!

Einstein was similarly interested in another early electric musical instrument - the electric grand piano of his Berlin colleague, the great chemist W. Nernst. In this instrument, the sounds of the strings were amplified not by a wooden soundboard, like a conventional piano, but by radio amplifiers. Einstein even asked Laue, who was then in charge of the physics colloquium at the University of Berlin, to give Nernst the opportunity to give a presentation on his piano to local physicists [, p. 54].

Being an unusually active person, Nernst was to a large extent drawn to invention and had a number of patents. In particular, he invented a lamp, which later became known as the Nernst lamp, with a rod made of a mixture of oxides. However, the lamp, although it was a solid commercial success, still did not take root in technology * . As for Nernst's piano, contemporaries, unlike Einstein, were not particularly enthusiastic about this predecessor of modern electronic musical instruments.

* However, unable to withstand the competition with incandescent lamps with tungsten filament, the Nernst lamp became widespread in spectroscopy: its luminous element - the Nernst oxide pin - turned out to be a successful source of infrared radiation.

Here, perhaps, it is worth mentioning that both Nernst and Einstein at that time were members of the Board of Trustees of the German Chamber of Weights and Measures (Berlin-Charlottenburg). According to § 36 of the charter of this large research institution, neither it itself nor its employees had the right to obtain patents or security certificates. Along with other employees of the chamber, Einstein and Nernst sharply opposed this ban. In the end, it was possible to achieve some softening of the wording - it was allowed to obtain patents, but in each individual case it was necessary to first seek the consent of the president of the chamber.

Einstein's well-known passion was a sailing yacht. One day he was visited by a prominent yacht designer, V. Burgess, who wanted to consult with him about the optimal design of the hull of a new yacht. Burgess brought with him drawings and a notebook with the corresponding calculations. He told Einstein about his difficulties. Einstein, without interrupting, listened to the designer, thought for a few minutes and, with a pencil in his hands, explained to Burgess the essence and solution of the question that worried him [, p. 522].

Although Einstein was very fond of sailing and, as they say, was excellent in the art of sailing a yacht, the spirit of competition and “sports passion” were deeply alien to him. On the yacht, he probably felt with particular force the unity with nature that he so valued (most likely, this is why he politely refused the outboard motor presented to him). Calmness, this curse of avid yachtsmen, gave him only pleasure!

However, with all his love for sails, Einstein showed a keen interest in a new type of “wind ship” - a rotary ship, built in 1924 at the shipyard in Kiel by the German engineer-inventor A. Flettner. Two cylinders, 26 m high and 3 m in diameter, rose above the deck of this ship. When a special mechanism caused these cylinders to rotate, the flowing wind on one side created a zone of increased pressure, and on the other, a zone of decreased pressure (Magnus effect). As a result, the ship obediently followed the set course, turned around and even reversed. Einstein dedicated a special popular article to the physics of this vessel [, p. 16-17]. At first, great hopes were placed on Flettper's ship, but it was still considered economically unprofitable, so for a long time it was remembered only as a striking example of a highly beautiful and original, but nevertheless unsuccessful design solution. However, in recent years, interest in Flettler's vessel has been reawakened, as it turns out that advances in modern technology have made it competitive with traditional screw-driven marine transport. Moreover, in a number of countries, ships of this type had already been built by the mid-80s.

Vero, the son of Einstein's closest friend, M. Besso, said that once in 1904 or 1905 the future great physicist made for him a kite, which they took for a walk around the outskirts of Bern. Many years later, Vero could no longer remember who launched this aircraft, but he remembered absolutely exactly that only Einstein was able to explain to him why the kite flies. Who knows, maybe it was then that Einstein’s interest in aerodynamics began?

Another episode dating back to the same distant times was recalled by Einstein’s sister, Maya. According to her, he enjoyed smoking the pipe given by his father and at the same time “I loved to watch how bizarre puffs of smoke formed, to study the movements of individual smoke particles and their interaction”[ , With. 50]. B. Hofmann, Einstein’s assistant in the Princeton years, from whose book we took this quote, asks a question similar to ours: was it not then that Einstein began to seriously think about the movement of particles suspended in a liquid, which led to the appearance of the famous series of “Brownian” works?

However, guesses of this kind are still risky. After all, Einstein could fly a kite or smoke a pipe just for fun, without being distracted by aerodynamic and hydrodynamic considerations.

How intricately the destinies of people are sometimes intertwined! The names of Albert Einstein and the Soviet mathematician, physicist, and mechanic Alexander Alexandrovich Friedman, placed side by side, are clearly associated with the idea of ​​a non-stationary expanding Universe. This idea was derived by Friedman from Einstein's equations of general relativity and at first caused severe criticism from Einstein, which was soon replaced by full recognition of both Friedman's work itself and its outstanding significance for cosmology. But it is curious that the interests of both scientists coincided beyond their main activities. A.A. Friedman, having visited L. Prandtl's laboratory in Göttnigen in 1923, got acquainted with Flettner's work there and, upon arriving home, initiated the publication of a book about Flettner's vessel. written by Prandtl's collaborator I. Akkerst. agreed to become the editor of its Russian translation. i.e., like Einstein, he propagated this idea of ​​a “ship without sails.” With aviation, its theory and practice. Friedman was bound by much stronger bonds than Einstein. Back in 1911, he wrote a large review on the theory of the airplane. And during the First World War (when Einstein was thinking about the optimal shape of an airplane wing and, probably, with hope and interest, was awaiting the results of testing an airplane with such a wing), Friedman became a real test pilot, flew combat missions on Russian army aircraft, bombed military targets in Przemysl occupied by German troops. In 1918, he headed an aircraft instrument factory in Moscow, and upon returning to Petrograd, he became a professor at the Institute of Railway Engineers and took part in the creation of the air communications department there.

In 1925, the Soviet theoretical physicist Ya.I. visited Einstein at his Berlin apartment. Frenkel. This is what he wrote to his homeland then: “Einstein turned out to be an unusually nice person... I talked with him exclusively about physics... The meeting took place in Einstein’s office; the latter had a rather proletarian appearance: in a knitted vest without a jacket, rather shabby trousers and sandals, which are so common here in Leningrad.”[ , With. 145]. The next time, after physics, the conversation turned to politics and philosophy. In addition, as Frenkel said, Einstein moved from these lofty matters to household appliances. Inviting Frenkel to go with him into the kitchen, he enthusiastically began to demonstrate all sorts of ingenious devices designed to make the housewife’s work easier.

In 1919, due to his mother’s illness, Einstein met the doctor Janos (Johann) Plesz, a Hungarian who had lived and worked in Berlin since 1903. By the time we met, Plesh was already very famous, was considered a brilliant diagnostician, and had an extensive private practice. At the end of the 20s, he treated Einstein and was the first to identify the disease - an aortic aneurysm, from which Einstein died a quarter of a century later.

The professional relationship between doctor and patient quickly developed into friendship. Plesh lived in an open house. Einstein loved to visit him, where he met with representatives of the Berlin intelligentsia - artists Liebermann, Slevogt and Orlik, and pianist Schnabel. violinist Kreisler. In the country villa Pleša in Gatow, Einstein took refuge from correspondents who attacked him on his 50th birthday, March 14, 1929.

In 1944, Plesh, while in exile in England, began writing his memoirs, “The Life History of a Doctor,” in which he devoted an entire chapter to Einstein: many excerpts from it were later included in famous biographies of the scientist. From the point of view of the “utilitarian” interests of the authors of this book, such an episode attracts attention in Plesch’s memoirs.

One day Plesh visited the ill Einstein and, knowing his love for various kinds of novelties, gave him an “eternal” notebook (similar notebooks were also produced by our industry at one time, in the mid-60s). A piece of tissue paper was protected on top with cellophane. A special stylus was used as a pencil, which pressed the paper through the cellophane onto a black base, and a record appeared. To erase the written text, it was enough to separate the sheet from the base, and the “eternal” book was ready for new entries. Einstein liked the “toy”. Together with Scourge, they began to lively discuss what principles her “eternal youth” was based on.

Plesch emphasizes Einstein's ability to see the essential and non-trivial in what to the inexperienced seems simple and not even worthy of thought. He recalls such thoughts out loud: about the nature of the wind; about why the sand on the sea coast “hardens” when water leaves (filters) from it into the depths; calls Plesh and reasoning about tea leaves.

Plesh, like Einstein’s other close friends, had not only a sharp mind, which made him an interesting conversationalist, but also an inventive one. Inventive - in the literal sense of the word, since he had an important invention to his credit - a tonoscillograph, a device for automatically recording blood pressure. Plesch's tonoscillograph was patented in England and Germany and was mass-produced in both of these countries. During his visit to our country in the late 20s, Plesh brought his device and successfully demonstrated it in medical institutions in Moscow and Leningrad.

Einstein, according to Bucca, was not particularly enthusiastic about medicine and somehow, smiling, noticed that “You can die without the help of a doctor”[ , With. 234]. At the same time, Plesch emphasizes that Einstein was a trusting, grateful and dutiful patient and skillfully made his own observations on the state of his health.

Plesch once told Einstein that people suffering from heart disease feel especially bad when they have to walk into a strong wind. Einstein, after thinking, quickly came to the conclusion that the reason for this was the rarefaction of the air at the nostrils, just as it occurs under the pressure of the wind near the chimney of a steamship. However, the very next day Plesch received a letter from Einstein, in which he said that after careful consideration, he had come to the diametrically opposite conclusion: breathing problems stem from the increased pressure that the wind exerts on a person’s face. “I simply cannot express how much I owe to Einstein for all the inspiring and long discussions that he and I often had. When I dedicated my book on the heart and blood vessels to him, it was not just a tribute of admiration for his greatness as a scientist, but also real gratitude” * [, p. 204]. * Plesh dedicated his other book to Ioffe, whom he met at Einstein’s. It provides explanations of some hydrodynamic effects associated with blood pressure and methods for measuring it, due to A.F. Ioffe and what he expressed during conversations with Dr. Plesh. Plesch had a chance to meet Einstein in the USA a few days before the death of the great physicist: he was almost the last guest in his house at 112 Mercer Street in Princeton. April 13, 1955 * Professor Plesch brought a box of excellent Havana cigars as a gift to his old friend. Einstein's sense of humor did not leave him even in his last days. Smiling, he said to Plesh: “I'll have to hurry to smoke them all.”[ , With. 226]. On April 15, Einstein was hospitalized and died three days later.

* According to other sources, Plesh met with Einstein on April 11.

Let us note in conclusion of this little story that three episodes in our “kaleidoscope” are connected with doctors (Bukki, Muzam (see below) and Plesh). Is this a coincidence and how can one even explain the fact that among Einstein’s friends, according to many biographers of the scientist (see, for example, [, p. 29; ]), there were so many representatives of this profession? The point here is not that Einstein was sick a lot or was “fussy” with his health. On the contrary, he did not like being treated too much and did not suffer from suspiciousness at all. The point, apparently, is that in the first decades of our century (as throughout the previous century), the connection between physicists and physicians was very close; the congresses at which both spoke and were called “congresses of natural scientists and doctors.” The modern differentiation of the natural sciences was still a long way off, and the physician and physicist in those days knew more about the situation in which their fields of knowledge were located than do modern physicists working in different areas of their science.

Another small episode testifying to Einstein’s passion for the design of physical instruments and his geophysical interests. The English astrophysicist G. Dingle, who was at one time president of the Royal Astrophysical Society, recalls that in the winter of 1932-33 he worked in Pasadena at the California Institute of Technology, or, as it is usually called, at Caltech. At the same time, Einstein was there, invited to give lectures and conduct seminars; Einstein loved Pasadena very much; this was his third visit to Caltech. Pasadena, like all of California as a whole, is located in a zone of increased seismicity. The famous German seismologist B. Gutenberg came to work at Caltech, in particular, hoping that he would be able to observe seismographs in action. In at least one case his hopes were realized.

Professor Dingle says that one day, while in his office, he felt an earthquake. The blow was so strong that Dingle decided to go home and make sure everything was okay there. On the way he saw Einstein and Gutenberg. The scientists stood in the courtyard of the institute, deep in the study of a large sheet of paper. Later, Dingle learned that the subject of their studies was a drawing of a new sensitive seismograph, and the Ibas were so absorbed in its discussion that they did not notice the earthquake [, p. 61].

Let us dwell on one more aspect of Einstein’s technical activity. The pacifist position of the scientist during the First World War is well known. However, with the Nazis coming to power in Germany, this position underwent radical changes. Einstein's letter to US President Roosevelt calling for work on atomic weapons has already been mentioned. Einstein considered it his duty to make not only, so to speak, a verbal, so to speak, but also a real, practical contribution to the fight against Nazi Germany [, p. 571-585].

As is known, the most difficult aspect of the atomic program, at least at first, was the separation of uranium isotopes. There were a lot of ambiguities here, ideas and calculations were required. V. Bush, who then headed the US Office of Scientific Research and Development, suggested that Einstein consider this problem. Sending a report on the work done. Einstein informed Bush that he was ready to continue these calculations and generally do everything in his power to promote the progress of research. Conveying this wish from Einstein, F. Eidelotte, then director of the Princeton Institute for Advanced Study, wrote to Bush: “I really hope that you will take him up on his offer, as I know how deeply satisfied he is that he is doing something useful for national defense.” In a response letter dated December 30, 1941, Bush rejected the proposal to involve Einstein in the uranium project out of fear that the great scientist, who often had his head in the clouds, would not be able to maintain proper secrecy standards.

But Einntein did not give up the idea of ​​participating in defense work. His wish was later granted, and for a number of years, starting in mid-1943, he worked for the Ministry of the Navy as a scientific specialist, technical expert (just like in Berlin!) and consultant. His activities were of two types. Firstly, he carried out calculations to increase the efficiency of underwater explosions and focus shock waves from a large number of bottom mines, and secondly, he examined and assessed military inventions that came to the ministry.

Frequent trips from Princeton to Washington, to the ministry, were no longer feasible for the scientist. Therefore, materials were brought to his home - twice a month. It is curious that the duties of the courier were assigned to G.A. Gamova! Einstein carefully looked through the papers, which in two weeks accumulated a whole portfolio. His work was enjoyable and satisfying. He found an interesting idea in almost every sentence and approved of almost everything, saying: “Oh, yes, this is very interesting, very, very inventive.”

Patent expert again

In May 1916, Einstein wrote to Vesso: “I now again have a very funny examination in one patent process”[ , With. 53]. In this quote, the words that attract attention are: "again" And “funny.” The first indicates that even after the Berne Office of Spiritual Property, Einstein more than once acted as a patent expert. The second gives the impression that such an activity was not without some pleasure for him. Confirmation of this can be found in other Einstein materials.

Dr. Plesch talks, for example, about Einstein’s trip to the Osram factories in connection with the patent litigation between the AEG concern and the Siemens company [, p. 216]. Unfortunately, there is no detailed information about the essence of this dispute and the role. played in its resolution by Einstein, no.

But in another case related to Dr. Bucchi, whose friendship with Einstein has already been mentioned, such data were discovered. In the early 40s, Bukki patented several versions of the camera with automatic focusing and aperture. The rights to produce such cameras were acquired from him by the New York company Koreko - Consolidated Research Corporation. After four years of cooperation, Bukki terminated his agreement with the company. The cameras, however, were in demand, and the company continued to produce them, with minor modifications. Bukki filed a lawsuit against her in 1949 and lost it. However, he did not give up and demanded a review of the case.

The hearing took place in November 1952 and attracted press attention. Obviously, a significant role was played by the fact that 73-year-old Einstein, who specially came to New York from Princeton, acted as an expert witness in court.

It is impossible to understand from newspaper reports what the technical side of the matter was, and the information about the process given in the books of Clark and Zelig is even less specific. An appeal to Bucca's patents, available in the Patent Library in Moscow, made it possible to clarify the issue. We are talking about US Patent No. 2239379 entitled “Self-focusing and illuminating device for cameras”, received by Bukchi on April 22, 1941.

In the description of the invention, Bukki notes that his camera is especially suitable for photographing in medical practice for diagnostic purposes. In such cases, shooting is done from close distances; the object of interest should occupy the entire frame. A good picture is obtained provided that the focus is correct, the aperture is selected, etc. The main element of Bukki's device is an ordinary camera, which, however, is inserted into an unusual block. A special feature of the block is a kind of probe (two symmetrically located pins), brought into contact with the plane in which the object being photographed is located. When the probe rests on a plane, it automatically sets (extends or retracts) the lens, placing it at the desired distance from the film. This ensures automatic focusing. In approximately the same way, with the help of special mechanical rods, two lighting lamps located on both sides of the lens were aimed at the subject. With the help of Bukki's camera it was possible to take good pictures.

The camera met the generally accepted requirements for an invention, which means “a new combination of already known equipment for the most economical satisfaction of human needs”, if we use Einstein's formulation.

According to the procedure, Einstein had to tell the court his name and place of employment. Judge S. Ryan, however, considered it possible to deviate from the letter of the law, noting: “Is this what we need? Everyone knows Professor Einstein.”

At the court hearing, Einstein first of all confirmed that the device produced by the Koreko company really embodies the idea of ​​​​Dr. Bucca's patent. In response to the firm's attorney who conducted the cross-examination. Einstein indicated that he worked for seven years at the Patent Office in Bern, and then also collaborated with German patent organizations.

The hearing of the case lasted two days. On the second day, the defense forced Einstein to make adjustments to the testimony he had given the day before. “Are you saying that Einstein was wrong?” - Judge Ryan exclaimed. “It is quite possible,” Einstein replied. ( “Einstein admits that even he can make mistakes”- under such a heading a report on the court hearing was placed in the New York Times.) With his answer, Einstein played into the hands of the defense, which did not fail to immediately ask him a tricky question: does he consider himself an expert in matters of photographic equipment? To this Einstein calmly replied: “No, I speak here as a physicist.”

It was as a physicist that Einstein argued that Bucca’s invention was by no means trivial and could in no way be considered a routine technical solution, and this was the main argument of the company’s defender.

The court decided in favor of Bukki, but for the sake of objectivity it must be said that a year later the court of appeal reviewed the case and decided it in favor of the Koreko company, refusing (by a majority of 2:1) Bukki’s claim.

We have already discussed Einstein’s contacts with Anschutz and his participation in the development of the gyroscopic compass. But it also turns out that Einstein helped Anschütz not only as an inventor, but also as a patent examiner. In Einstein's letter to Sommerfeld. dated September 1918, it states:

“I am glad that you have subjected Mr. Usener’s historical account to well-deserved criticism. In his mala fides(bad faith - lat.)there is no doubt. I am definitely aware of this matter, since I made a small private expert opinion for Mr. Anschutz, c. which had to take into account the relation of the Van den Bos/Anschutz patents set out by Usener. Usener used to work for Anschutz, and now takes part in his competition. In the book, he very skillfully presents himself as an impartial person, but tries to downplay Anschutz’s merits. Let Anschutz himself give you the details. I was outraged by Usener. It’s very good that you spoke out directly.”[ , With. 202].

We are talking about Sommerfeld’s brief review of G. Usener’s voluminous monograph, “The Gyroscope as a Directional Indicator, Its Creation, Theory and Characteristics,” published in 1917 in Munich. Regarding Usener’s presentation of the history of the issue, Sommerfeld, a recognized authority in the theory of gyroscopes and the author of the classic and fundamental “Theory of the Top,” pointed out the obvious understatement in the monograph of the merits of Anschutz, who, “by all accounts, was a pioneer in the implementation of the vague idea of ​​a gyrocompass.” So. Usener pointed to the marine gyrocompass, patented in 1886 by the Dutchman M.G. Van den Bos, as a prototype of the apparatus designed and put into mass production by the famous American inventor A.E. Sperry (1860-1930), who founded the still thriving Sperry Gyroscope company in 1910. In this regard, Sommerfeld recalled that in 1914 in Kiel, the German Navy conducted an investigation into the relationship between the inventions of Anschutz and Sperry. But the war began, and the corresponding protocol remained unpublished. “Probably for the physics reader(Sommerfeld’s review was published in the journal Physikalische Zeitschrift. - Auto. )it will be interesting to know- added Sommerfeld, - that Einstein participated in this investigation as a forensic expert.”

True, in a letter published in the same magazine a couple of months later. Sommerfeld had to clarify: “Mr. Einstein, whose name I mentioned(however, purely incidentally)in connection with the comparison of the Anschutz and Sperry devices carried out by the Navy, he participated not in this, but in the subsequent proceedings regarding the patent lawsuit of the Anschutz company against the Sperry company.” ,

The American physics historian P. Galison, who specially studied the relevant documents, reports that in May 1914, the case “Anschutz v. Sperry” was heard in the Kiel naval court. Anschutz's firm won, although a representative of the American company accused the German lawyers of “facilitating” their compatriot. That same year, Anschutz's company and an English company filed a new lawsuit against Sperry, accusing him of violating patent laws. The American inventor’s lawyers based their defense on the argument that the ideas used in his apparatus were in fact not Anschütz’s, but put forward in the 19th century. Dutchman Van den Bos. Einstein, invited as an expert, refuted this trick in his written testimony dated August 7, 1915 [, p. 66] Thus, Einstein had every reason to write to Sommerfeld in 1918: “I am definitely aware of this matter...”

“After the trial was over and Anschutz won,- Galison continues, - Einstein was also invited as an expert to litigation related to the Anschutz company in 1918 and 1923. He mastered the gyrocompass business to such an extent that in 1922 he was able to make a significant contribution to the development of one of Anschütz’s inventions. For this he was given a remuneration of several hundred dollars a year. This reward was paid. until the Dutch company Giro, which purchased the relevant patents, ceased to exist in 1938".

The surviving papers relating to these Einstein fees mention German patent No. 394677. However, as Galison found out, this is an error: the reference is to patent No. 394667 “Gyroscopic apparatus for measuring purposes,” received by the Anschutz company on February 18, 1922 (patent no. 394677 refers to the improvement of the projection apparatus and was issued to a certain P. Relling from Hamburg).

It is worth saying that, along with several other improvements, induction electromagnetic suspension was used for the first time in the patented gyroscope apparatus. The fact that royalties were paid to Einstein on the basis of this patent serves as additional evidence in favor of our earlier conclusion that the great physicist should also be considered the “father” of the induction electromagnetic suspension.

It is difficult to say why Lischütz turned to Einstein for help in 1915. The German gyrocompass enthusiast patented his inventions in different countries (between Irochi and the USSR), including in Switzerland - at the Berne patent office. At least two such patents - No. 34026 dated March 31, 1905 and No. 44242 dated May 13, 1908 - were issued to Anschütz during the years of Einstein’s service there. It may very well be that it was he who had to deal with gyrocompass applications and the inventor was pleased with the quick-witted latent clerk.

In a letter dated January 27, 1930, to the prominent French philosopher E. Meyerson, Einstein reported: “I came to demonstrate the nature of the paramagnetic atom in connection with technical reports prepared by me on the gyromagnetic compass.”[ , With. 34, 35]. It's obvious that “gyromagnetic”- disclaimer: “gyromagnetic” compasses do not exist (yet, anyway), so we are probably just talking about a gyrocompass. On the other hand, this clause looks symptomatic (as if Freudian), if the whole context is somehow connected with gyromagnetic phenomena. At the same time - what is “demonstration of the nature of the paramagnetic atom”, what about Einstein’s experiments on the gyromagnetic effect, about which their authors continually appeal to the analogy between a gyroscope and a paramagnetic atom (with a magnetic moment due to the orbital rotation of an electron having a finite mass)? The “Technical Reports” prepared by Einstein are. of course, opinions on patent applications, because he did not have to prepare other technical reports.

Thus, it turns out that Einstein himself points to his work on the gyrocompass patents as the starting point for the design of experiments on gyromagnetism. Galison also seems to come to this conclusion [, p. 36]. At the same time, the American historian of science believes that the impetus was Einstein’s contacts with Anschutz, established shortly after the creator of the theory of relativity moved from Zurich to Berlin in April 1914. However, the first known mention of the experiments of Einstein and de Haas dates back to February 3, 1914 [ , With. 38], and the results were first reported to the German Physical Society on February 19. On the other hand, as already mentioned, the hearings in the Kiel naval court took place in May 1914, and Einstein’s expert opinion on the Anschutz-Sperry litigation was dated August 7, 1915. Consequently, there are grounds for doubt in the stated version of the origin of the plan for the gyromagnetic experiments of Einstein and de Haas.

But it seems that the “main culprit of the events” himself, Einstein, insists on this version. The situation is further aggravated by the fact that the information was probably communicated to Meyerson with full responsibility, because the French philosopher, the most prominent specialist in the field of methodology of the exact sciences at that time, was most interested in the questions of genesis, the origin of scientific ideas and plans.

It is quite possible that the version about the stimulating role of reflection on the design of the gyrocompass is still correct, but the speech in Einstein’s letter to Meyerson is not about his participation as a technical expert in patent disputes between Anschutz and Sperry, but about the above-mentioned patent No. 34026 for a gyroscope device, issued - with the possible participation of Einstein! - to the German inventor by the Berne patent office on March 31, 1905. In fact, as already mentioned in Chapter. 4, according to Flückiger, around this time Einstein, after service, often went into the physics room of the Berne city gymnasium (the same one within the walls of which the Berne Scientific Society met) and experimented there together with his friend L. Chavan and two young gymnasium teachers - physicist and mathematician. According to Flückiger, along with others, an experiment was carried out (unfortunately, it is described very sparingly and unclearly) to detect rotation that occurs as a reaction to strong pulses of electric current, in other words, the focus was on Ampere molecular currents and circular motion of electrons[ , With. 172].

Let us return, however, to Sommerfeld’s review, which was written in sharply critical tones. Having familiarized himself with it, Usener met with Sommerfeld and presented quite compelling counterarguments, in particular against the Anschütz priority. Thus, Sommerfeld found himself in a somewhat awkward position. There is no doubt that he shared his difficulties with Einstein. Indeed, in the letter to Sommerfeld quoted above, Einstein admits that some of Usener’s arguments are “new” to him. However, without falling into tendentiousness, Einstein still finds a clear formulation of the fundamentally important thing that Anschutz did and which cannot but be credited to him. He's writing: “Only a combination: strong damping + long periods of oscillation *- ensured success. Who knows when the matter would have been realized without Anschutz”[ , With. 202].

* A discussion of the physical and technical aspects of the operation of gyrocompasses - these very non-trivial devices - would take us too far. Let's just say that the damping and periods of oscillations that Einstein is talking about relate to the oscillatory movements of a gyroscopic pendulum - the main element of the gyrocompass.

In a word, the emphasis is on the fact that Anschutz was the first to put into practice a combination of the two indicated innovations, albeit separately proposed by other inventors earlier. And it is precisely this argument that Sommerfeld puts forward against Usener in his letter to the Physikalische Zeitschrift, sent in response to the latter’s objections to a previously published review.

“A decisive step towards the realization of the idea of ​​a gyrocompass, worthy of being on a par with other precision instruments,- writes Sommerfeld, - was made by Anschutz. who realized that the inevitable meridional oscillations of the gyroscope that occur when the ship moves can be reduced to acceptable limits by introducing an effective mechanism attenuation and choice a sufficiently long period of oscillation (emphasis added - Auto. )”.

As we can see, Sommerfeld accurately took advantage of Einstein's hint. And Usener had no choice but to recognize Anschutz, the head of a competing company, as a pioneer in the implementation of the idea of ​​a gyrocompass.

P. Goldschmpdt, who together with Einstein invented the magnetostrictive loudspeaker, asks him in a letter dated May 2, 1928: “Did I write this patent claim well for the English patent?”[ , With. 26]. And we are talking here not about their joint invention, but about Goldschmidt’s own. Einstein will approve - and Goldschmidt will send the patent application to England, reject it - he will redo it. And at the same time, it must be borne in mind that Goldschmidt was far from a novice in invention.

As we see, Einstein was consulted on issues very far from the theory of relativity and quantum.

This claim can be supported by a new document recently discovered in Moscow by the famous historian of science from the GDR, Dr. D. Hofmann. While working in the Central State Archive of the October Revolution, he discovered among the materials transferred there from the All-Union Society for Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries (VOKS) an interesting letter from Einstein addressed to the Moscow inventor I.N. Kechedzhanu and related to the application submitted by him for the invention he “a tube for observing phenomena near the apparent position of the Sun.” The case dates back to 1929-1930, when the results of the Eddington expedition were still very fresh in memory, which, while observing a solar eclipse in 1919, discovered the deflection of light rays in the gravitational field of the Sun, predicted by the general theory of relativity. Therefore, Kechedzhan wanted his application to be considered by Einstein - not only the author of the theory of relativity, but also a patent expert, and also the author of an article published in a Soviet magazine for inventors (see the next section).

"1. A tube made of a metal frame for observing phenomena near the apparent position of the Sun using a dark camera at the ocular end with a small telescope, characterized by the fact that at its objective end there is placed a round opaque disk of a diameter slightly larger than the apparent diameter of the Sun, driven by a lever from the ocular end of the tube .

2. The form of the pipe according to claim 1, characterized in that glass, painted on the inside with black opaque paint, is inserted into the rectangular holes of the metal frame.

3. When described in paragraphs. 1, 2 tubes, the use of a lid secured at the objective end of the tube with a spring, opened and closed using a cord from the ocular end of the tube.”[ , With. 144-145].

The application for the invention, filed in the spring of 1928, lay idle for about a year in the Committee for Inventions; This prompted Kechedzhan to contact Einstein through VOKS in November 1929 and ask him to express his thoughts on the proposed invention. The corresponding letter was sent to Einstein by VOKS on February 18, 1930, and after 10 (!) days Einstein sent his feedback to Kechedzhan:

“Review of Mr. Kechedzhan’s invention.

The text given to me describes a sentence consisting essentially of two logically independent parts.

A. The use of a long pipe in order to avoid, if possible, the influence of optical interference (extraneous light) caused by sunlight scattered in the atmosphere.

B. The use of a round hood (Deckscheibe), located at some distance from the optical instrument, which should cover the disk of the Sun and cut off the intense direct light emitted by it.

Device A is well known, but its use encounters practical difficulties associated with the large size of the device.

Proposition B is not feasible and is based on a misunderstanding. Namely, for such a lens hood to be effective, it must be located at an extremely large distance from the telescope lens. As is known, the same goal pursued by the inventor can be achieved by placing a blackened lens hood the size of the image of the Sun in the focal plane of the telescope. Of course, any specialist knows this.

Thus, I believe that Mr. Kechedzhan's proposal does not contain anything of value.

With utmost respect

A. Einstein”[, With. 145-146].

In the same way that in adulthood we love to visit the places where we spent our youth, it can be pleasant to revisit the range of issues that formed the subject of our studies in the distant past. It is this, combined with the commitment characteristic of Einstein, and his sympathy for the “corps of inventors,” as well as for the Soviet country as a whole, that explains Einstein’s quick (albeit negative) reaction. The clear and concise lines of his expert review once again show what a deep imprint his stay in the patent office left on him.

D. Hofmann (and after the publication of his article - the Soviet colleagues of the scientist from the GDR) made attempts to find, if not Kechedzhan himself, then at least some traces of him. These attempts have so far been unsuccessful. Hoffman was able to establish that Kechedzhan, at approximately the same time to which the story relates, was engaged in inventive activities - he received patents for a “Wind engine with a horizontal axis” (1929) and for a “Fire-fighting device for a film projector” (1931) . Hofmann further notes that in the summer of 1930, the French astronomer B. Liot successfully developed an instrument for studying phenomena in the solar corona (i.e., to use the quoted formulation of Kechedzhan, “near the apparent position of the Sun”). He writes that “The principle used by Lio in constructing the instrument coincides with the one Einstein mentions in his review and which he laconically states that, of course, any specialist knows it.” This statement cannot be taken literally. In any case, the review mentioned was written approximately six months before Lio’s publication; Thus, we were talking about design problems that were resolved only by the beginning of 1930, when the coronagraph was created, which satisfied the long-standing and strong need for such an instrument for astronomical and astrophysical research” [, p. 146-147].

However, correspondence with I.N. Einstein’s connections with Soviet inventors do not end with Kechedzhan.

Einstein writes to a Soviet magazine

In 1929, the first issue of the magazine “Inventor” (organ of the Central Bureau for the Implementation of Inventions and Promotion of Invention of the Supreme Economic Council of the USSR) was published in our country. The need for such a publication had long been ripe by that time: from the first months after the revolution, the movement of inventors and innovators began to gain strength. The publication of the magazine in 1929 does not seem to be accidental, because just ten years earlier the Committee for Inventions and Improvements at the Supreme Economic Council prepared a document dated June 30, 1919 and signed by V.I. Lenin’s “Regulations on Inventions”, which provided for the expansion of the rights of inventors and in every possible way encouraged their initiative.

The course conducted by the Soviet government was aimed at mass invention, involving as many industrial and agricultural workers as possible in the sphere of creative activity. Thus, in the preface to the book published in 1929 by T.I. Sedelnikov’s “Ways of Soviet Invention” said:

“Comrade Sedelnikov correctly interprets the problem of invention as a problem of organizing mass technical creativity. He proceeds from the absolutely correct idea that our tasks here are not only to involve the existing cadre of inventors and use them, but to create conditions for the technical creativity of the masses of workers and peasants, to stimulate this creativity, so that in a socialist way organize it, moving from individual creativity to collective creativity”[ , With. 10].

The editors of “Inventor” invited prominent scientists and statesmen to participate in its first issue: Permanent Secretary of the USSR Academy of Sciences, Acad. S.F. Oldenburg, acad. A.F. Ioffe, Chairman of the VDNH USSR V.V. Kuibyshev, Deputy Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars A.M. Lezhava. Famous Soviet writers V. Inber, M. Koltsov, I. Pogodin, M. Prishvin, Yu. Olesha, V. Shklovsky appeared in the first issues of “The Inventor”.

Einstein was also asked to write an article. A former employee of the Berne Patent Office, creator of the theory of relativity, Nobel Prize laureate, foreign member of the USSR Academy of Sciences responded to this request. formulated, probably, in the form of a question about his attitude to mass invention.

Let's take a closer look at this article by Einstein. It was reprinted twice in our press, and in the anniversary issue of “Inventor and Innovator”, published on the 50th anniversary of the founding of the magazine, it was reproduced in the form of a photocopy along with a photograph of Einstein, probably sent by him simultaneously with the article (however, in none of the This article does not appear in bibliographies of Einstein published abroad).

The article was called “Mass instead of units”; This title was intended to emphasize the difference in the position occupied by inventors in the USSR, a country of “planned economy” *, and in capitalist countries, whose economy develops according to the principle of competition (Einstein calls such an economy “free”). Einstein paid a lot of attention to this aspect of the matter. He writes that large and rich enterprises are often not interested in implementing “newly invented technical improvements.”

* In this section, all quotations enclosed in quotation marks, except where specifically noted, are taken from Einstein's paper, the Russian translation of which is often rather clumsy.

“Often the inventor- Einstein points out - cannot engage in his activities, devote himself to his calling due to the fact that he has to spend all his strength, time and money defending his monopoly right(for invention. - Auto. ). The monopoly right of the inventor is a necessary evil in a free economy. In a planned economy, it should be replaced by systematic rewards and incentives. In a state with a planned economy, the monopoly right to an invention has only national significance in relation to other countries. In this case, the disadvantages of monopoly rights disappear. The task of encouraging and assisting inventors passes to the state.”

From a comparison of this statement with the resolutions adopted in our country in 1919-1929. (and indeed in subsequent years), it is clear that Einstein’s position is generally in harmony with the course toward “nationalization” of inventions pursued in the USSR.

Einstein, however, does not pass over in silence the question of the possible “costs” of the favorable situation in which inventors find themselves in our country: the absence of the need for the struggle of individual inventors, in principle, can lead, in his opinion, to stagnation. This point of view, in any case, indicates Einstein's interest in ensuring that due attention is paid to the fight against these costs. Thus, Einstein writes:

“I would not recommend forming a team of inventors * due to the difficulty of identifying a real inventor. I think that the only thing that can come out of this is a society of idlers hiding from work. It would be much more expedient to form a small commission to test and encourage inventions. I think that in a country where the people manage their own economy, this is quite possible.”

* By “team of inventors” Einstein probably means a certain “invention department” at an industrial enterprise. whose employees would only be required to invent.

However, at the end of the article, Einstein says that progress in the organization of production can, in principle, lead to a state of affairs in which inventors can be freed from all responsibilities except the one that is their unique specialty - the obligation to create new things. The concerted efforts of the creative masses of inventors will eventually, according to Einstein, push aside the individual geniuses.

Under such conditions, not only the optimal organization of work of a team of real inventors, but also their rational selection takes on special importance. Einstein believes that true inventive ability, like any other talent, is innate. However, in order for these abilities to be realized, it is necessary to consolidate them with systematic education, in-depth study of technology and the tasks of production processes: “You cannot invent without knowledge, just as you cannot compose poetry without knowing the language.” “It is important to highlight a real inventor from the crowd of fanatical illusionists and give the opportunity to realize exactly those ideas that are worth it”- this is how Einstein formulates the task of the commissions he mentioned to test and encourage inventors.

It seems that M.I. Kalinin, who spoke in “The Inventor” three years later, had a slightly different opinion. “We must invent not what we want, but what our socialist construction requires”[ , With. 12] - such was the directive of the “all-Union elder”, who hardly recognized the independent value of technical and scientific ideas.

Another question that was apparently asked of Einstein by the editors of the new journal was the question of what the essence of the invention was. He formulated his answer as follows:

“To invent means to increase the numerator in the following fraction:

goods produced / labor expended." We honestly admit that we could not comprehend the full depth of this Einsteinian formula. Perhaps the reader will be able to do this, especially if he is a member of VOIR.

Einstein’s definition makes an equally strange impression, probably reinforced by the translator:

“I consider an inventor to be a person who has found a new combination of already known equipment to most economically satisfy human needs.”

True, in one of the articles published in the anniversary issue of “Inventor and Innovator” for 1979, this definition is regarded as very successful.

Einstein experiments

Einstein's inventive and technical activities are also thematically connected with his interest in physical experimentation. The main and most effective result of Einstein’s experimental work is, undoubtedly, his work on the gyromagnetic effect, which is described in detail in Chapter. 4. This section provides a summary of Einstein's other experimental endeavors.

This interest manifested itself during my student years. In his declining years, Einstein recalled that at the Zurich Polytechnic, he often, to the detriment of theoretical disciplines, “I worked most of the time in the physics laboratory, fascinated by direct contact with experience”[ , With. 264], “in the physical laboratory of prof. G.F. Weber I worked with zeal and passion"[ , With. 151].

There is, however, contrary evidence. It is known that towards the end of his stay at the Polytechnic, Einstein’s experimental ardor diminished somewhat - he began to skip laboratory work (as well as lectures), for which he was reprimanded. However, here, perhaps, there is not such a sharp contradiction: zeal and fervor relate to studies in the first years, and skimping on laboratory practical work - to the fourth year. After all, skipping lectures, he delved deeper and deeper into modern physics, and what they were doing in the laboratory was very far from its current problems. Einstein, both in physics and in technology, was primarily interested in ideas, original solutions, and not in ordinary, although perhaps useful, research and measurements.

I. Sauter, Einstein's future colleague at the Patent Office, just during these years, under the leadership of Weber, studied the effect of winding unevenness on the magnetic field it created in a toroidal magnetic core. Such work fully met the objectives of the Polytechnic as a higher technical educational institution. However, Einstein clearly did not like it. He believed that experiment should be resorted to only when the result cannot be deduced from the existing theory, or, to put it more solemnly, questions should be addressed to Nature only in cases where the answer to them is not contained in what has already been achieved find out from her.

Einstein considered the problem of the existence of the ether to be just such a justified question. All physicists talked about the ether, but Einstein was not satisfied with natural philosophical disputes. He wanted to solve the question of the reality of the ether with a direct experiment, which we described in Chapter. 1. Einstein, like many of his contemporaries, paid tribute to his passion for the first successes of radio technology, or, as it was then called, wireless telegraphy. In the house of his friend at the Patent Office F. Blau, he was perhaps the first in Switzerland to build an antenna that received the “Morse code” of the transmitter from the Eiffel Tower [, p. 71].

Speaking at the opening of a broadcasting and sound recording exhibition in Berlin in 1930, Einstein admired the successes in this field of technology. But another motive was clear in his speech. He emphasized the social role of the achievements of radio technology, since radio makes “accessible to the whole society are the creations of the finest thinkers and artists, which until recently could only be enjoyed by the privileged classes”, awakens peoples, promotes “eradicating the feeling of mutual alienation that so easily turns into mistrust and hostility”[ , With. 181].

Unfortunately, it is not always possible to find out exactly what experiments Einstein conceived and carried out. But it is known for sure that in the spring of 1910, already working at the University of Zurich, he was clearly engaged in radio engineering activities: he assembled an audio frequency amplifier, designed microphones, and experimented with them. In a letter to Chavan, he asks to send high-resistance resistance and carbon powder. Along the way, Einstein needed headphones, “so that both hands would be free when experimenting,” he explains to Chavan, referring to the standard equipment of telephone ladies.

In 1911, already as a professor at the German University in Prague, Einstein thought about another range of experimental problems - the nature of the electrical resistance of metals. Constructed at the very beginning of the century, the classical electronic theory of Drude-Lorentz-Ricke, with all its achievements, could not explain either the general temperature variation of electrical conductivity or the fact that especially amazed Einstein that when metals are deeply cooled, electrical conductivity generally ceases to depend on temperature. Einstein rightly believed that the key parameter here is the electron mean free path.

All these questions were vividly discussed in Einstein’s correspondence with Besso. In a letter dated October 21, Einstein, among other things, talks about the experiments he is planning to directly estimate the mean free path of electrons [, p. 27]. The intention was to determine the dependence of the electrical resistance of a mercury column in a capillary on its diameter. It could be assumed that when the diameter of the tube becomes less than the mean free path of the electron, it is this diameter that will determine the value of the resistance. Einstein hoped to discover this effect on capillaries with a diameter of 0.01 mm.

The expected effect - it was called dimensional - was discovered relatively recently. As for Einstein’s experiments, they probably ended in failure (if only because he no longer mentions them either in his letters or articles). The reason for the failure is now not difficult to understand: the methods of electrical measurements and, more importantly, the methods of purifying the metals under study were not sufficiently advanced.

Since in 1909, having considered fluctuations in the energy of thermal radiation in a closed cavity, Einstein came to the conclusion that light simultaneously has both corpuscular and wave properties [, p. 164-172], this wave-particle dualism, which underlies modern quantum mechanics, constantly haunted him. He considered this result not final, and tried to find a means to make a choice between the corpuscular and wave concepts. The scientist, as always, placed great hopes in this regard on the experiment.

In powerful thermal radiation, the average electric field strength reaches 100 V/cm. Einstein believes that if the wave picture is valid, then a small, detectable Stark effect * will take place on all atoms. If the corpuscular-statistical representation is correct, then only a small part of the atoms will be affected, but the Stark effect will be very strong. “I want to investigate this matter together with Prinsheim, this is not an easy matter,”- he writes to M. Born in January 1921 [, p. 24].

* The Stark effect consists of splitting the energy levels (spectral lines) of an atom placed in an electric field.

It is not known whether experiments of this kind were carried out, but six months later Einstein, with great enthusiasm, was involved in another, from his point of view, “decisive” experiment. The task is to determine whether, when passing through a medium with optical dispersion, the light emitted by a moving particle and recorded at an angle to the direction of its speed will be deflected. If the wave approach is valid, due to the Doppler effect, the frequency of light propagating at an acute angle to the direction of velocity will increase, and at an obtuse angle it will decrease. In this case, Einstein believes, passing through a medium with dispersion, i.e. with a refractive index that depends on frequency, a beam of light will be bent, just as it is for light passing through the earth's atmosphere. If the elementary act of radiation occurs instantly and is determined only by the quantum condition of Bohr frequencies E 2 -E 1 =h n, then the radiation will be monochromatic regardless of whether the emitting particle is moving or not, and no deviation will occur. “I am starting an experimental solution to the question posed here together with Geiger,”- Einstein concludes a short article that describes the setup of the experiment.

Figure 22. Scheme of an experiment with light radiation

In Fig. Figure 22 shows a diagram of the experiment proposed by Einstein. Light emitted by beam ions 1, collected by lens 2 in the plane of the diaphragm 3. Lens 4 collects these rays into a parallel beam, which enters the cuvette 5 with a liquid having sufficiently strong optical dispersion. Einstein proposed using carbon disulfide CS 2 as such a liquid. According to his estimates, with a cuvette length of 50 cm, the light beam passing through it should have deviated by more than 2°.

By the end of 1921, the experiments (W. Bothe took part in them) were completed. The result was negative - the light was not deflected, therefore, the radiation of moving particles was strictly monochromatic. “This has reliably proven that the wave field does not exist and Bohr emission is an instantaneous process in the proper sense of the word. This is my strongest scientific shock in many years,”- Einstein said with enthusiasm to Born in a letter of congratulations on the new one, 1922 [, p. 33].

However, already in the letter dated January 18, doubts are felt: “Laue is desperately fighting my experiment and, accordingly, my interpretation of it. He claims that the wave theory does not cause any deflection of rays at all.”[ , With. 35]. And the next letter contains Einstein’s eloquent admission that in his experiments with radiation he “got into a puddle” (literally translated “shot a monumental goat”) [ , With. 38].

Laue, who was also supported by P. Ehrenfest, turned out to be right, and on February 27, the editors of the “Sitzungsberichte der Preussischen Akademie der Wissenschaften” received Einstein’s article, where he admitted his mistake and showed that the results of the exact calculation were in conflict with the elementary consideration he had previously carried out [ , With. 437] (see also: [, p. 229;, pp. 125-127]).

Einstein returned to the question of setting up a decisive experiment that would make it possible to make a choice between the corpuscular and wave concepts of light again in 1926 in two articles ([, p. 512] and [, p. 514]), in which he expressed considerations about possible differences between “corpuscular” and “wave” interference patterns. However, such an experience, as was subsequently shown by N. Bohr and L.I. Mandelstam, would not have led to anything: he was unable to overcome the wave-particle dualism discovered by Einstein himself, despite his persistent desire.

Purely experimental work was carried out by Einstein in 1923 together with his friend, doctor G. Muhsam. They developed a technique for determining the size of channels in porous filters (we are talking, in particular, about filters used for medical and bacteriological purposes) [, p. 447-449]. The permeability of such a filter is determined by the widest channel. It is clear that particles larger than the diameter of the widest channels will not pass through the filter.

Einstein and Muhsam proposed to find the value of this diameter from the pressure value, starting from which air is able to overcome capillary forces and pass through a filter, the channels of which are initially filled with liquid. Indeed, in accordance with Laplace’s formula, the excess pressure required to overcome capillary forces is equal to 4s/ L 0 , Where ( s- surface tension coefficient, a L 0 - diameter of the widest pore.

The article describes an experiment to determine the diameter of channels in a porous ceramic filter. The experimental scheme is illustrated in Fig. 23. Ether was taken as the liquid surrounding the outside of the filter, which, as previously verified, wets the filter material well and has a surface tension coefficient 4 times less than that of water. The critical pressure, determined by the appearance of air bubbles in the ether, was 1 atm. The channel diameter found in this way turned out to be 6.7 µm.

Rice. 23. Study of the Einstein-Muhsam filter

It is important that this method measures the diameter of precisely those channels that determine the filtration properties. But if it is necessary to measure the permeability of a filter with very narrow pores, the use of ether would require higher pressures (with a diameter of 0.01 microns - 72 atm). This is a lot for a simple medical laboratory! However, in this case, you can take a liquid with a lower surface tension coefficient; Einstein and Muhsam propose, for example, liquid carbon dioxide, whose value o is 18 times less than that of ether. Accordingly, the pressure will be only 4 atm.

It is interesting that this method has entered the practice of physicians and bacteriologists and is widely used by them today. But hardly any of them know that one of the authors of this method was the creator of the theory of relativity. And such filters are very necessary. They are used to sterilize liquids that cannot be heated, serums, broths for microorganisms, and some medicinal solutions.

Relatively little is known about Einstein’s co-author on the work reviewed, Hans Muhsam; his name will be preserved in history primarily thanks to Einstein’s meaningful (and so far only partially published) letters to him. In 1915, Mühsam was Einstein’s attending physician, and in 1919-1920. - his mother, who came to Berlin. Almost all the Berlin years, Einstein and Mühsam took long walks together on Sundays. From Einstein's letters to Mühsam (who emigrated from Hitler's Germany to Palestine in 1938), it is clear that Dr. Mühsam was aware of his friend's research and understood complex issues in physics. Einstein shared his plans with him and talked about the results of his work.

It is interesting to note that G. Mühsam's brother E. Mühsam was a progressive German anti-fascist writer. During the period of the Bavarian Republic, he was one of the members of the Munich Council of Workers' Deputies and was sentenced to hard labor for revolutionary activities. E. Muzam was the author of “The Soviet Marseillaise”, wrote a poem on the death of V.I. Lenin. He died in a Nazi concentration camp in 1935.

Among the many attractive character traits of Einstein that contemporaries talk about, his amazing simplicity stands out. It manifested itself primarily in his treatment of people who were interesting to him, completely regardless of their position. To some extent, his attitude towards the world around him was similar. While dealing with global problems of physics, he, so to speak, did not neglect the small corners of the overall picture of nature, focusing his attention on its modest, “local” phenomena. He was deeply alien to the snobbery characteristic of some of his colleagues in the profession, who consider any research almost profanation, except for those that promise, if successful, to be among the classics. To paraphrase Pushkin, we can say: “Everything excited his insightful mind.”

The saga of a cup of tea

In the midst of his work on general relativity, Einstein, as we have seen, contemplated and carried out gyromagnetic experiments; Having barely finished research on quantum statistics, I was looking for an answer to the question of the reasons for the formation of meanders in river beds.

The latest work is notable not only because it perfectly illustrates Einstein’s “physical democracy.” In its case, it is possible to reconstruct the circumstances of its occurrence without difficulty and with a high degree of reliability. And finally, here too Einstein acts as an experimenter, an experimenter as unique as the environment in which he “staged” his experiment and observed its progress.

Let's give him the floor. The following extensive quotation is taken from a work published in 1926 in the pages of the journal “Naturwissenschaften”), where he had previously published his articles. Einstein writes:

“I'll start with a small experiment that anyone can easily repeat. Let's imagine a flat-bottomed cup full of tea. Let there be several tea leaves at the bottom, which remain there because they turn out to be heavier than the liquid they displace. If you use a spoon to spin the liquid in a cup, the tea leaves will quickly gather in the center of the bottom of the cup. The explanation for this phenomenon is as follows. The rotation of the liquid leads to the appearance of centrifugal forces. These forces themselves could not lead to a change in the flow of the fluid if the latter were rotating as a rigid body. The layers of liquid adjacent to the walls of the cup are retained due to friction, so that the angular velocity of rotation, and therefore the centrifugal force, will be less near the bottom than far from it. The result of this will be a circular motion of the liquid, similar to that shown in Fig. 24, which increases until it becomes stationary under the influence of friction. The tea leaves are carried to the center in a circular motion, which proves its existence.” .

Rice. 24. To experiment with a cup of tea

The reader seems to see Einstein at the dinner table in his Berlin apartment, first absentmindedly stirring sugar in a cup, and then becoming interested in the unusual behavior of the tea leaves: isn’t it a small miracle that they behave so clearly? (There was a widely circulated anecdote about how, on the day of his 25th birthday, Einstein, engrossed in conversation about Galileo, did not even notice how he had finished with black caviar, a delicacy brought to him as a gift by his friends. But the tea leaves interested him: perhaps he was just didn’t you think about Galileo that day?)

You can imagine what happened next like this. Einstein's thought from the tea leaves went along a different, by no means winding channel. Having built his little theory, he, as always, began to seek experimental consequences flowing from it. And he found such a very wide range of phenomena in the peculiarities of the formation of river beds. It seems to us that Einstein quickly understood the physical background of this geophysical effect; It probably took him more time to familiarize himself with the relevant literature. A characteristic result of such searches is his remark made at the end of the first paragraph of the article:

“Many attempts have been made to explain this phenomenon, and I am not sure whether what I say below will be new to experts; some of my considerations are undoubtedly already known. However, not having found anyone who is fully acquainted with the causes of the effects discussed, I consider it appropriate to give a brief description of them here.”

From the book by I.V. Popov’s “Riddles of the River Bed,” we learn that back in 1827, the researcher of Siberian rivers P.A. became interested in the question of the “geometry” of river channels. Slovtsov, whose work remained unnoticed by his contemporaries. Later, this same problem became the subject of research by another of our compatriots, Karl Maksimovich Baer, ​​who was born in 1792 in the Estonian province and died there in 1876 (in present-day Tartu). His name is already in the title of Einstein's article.

One of the greatest naturalists of the last century. Baer is best known for his work in the field of biology (embryology). At the same time, he was an outstanding traveler. He examined the Caspian Sea and the lower reaches of the Volga, a river whose flow patterns led him to the formulation of “Baer's law.” The phenomenon studied by scientists took place not at the bottom of a cup, but on the surface of our planet! It consisted in the fact that river beds, instead of choosing their path along the line of maximum slope, meandered. At the same time, the rivers of the Northern Hemisphere erode the right bank, and the Southern Hemisphere - the left. This asymmetry of “right” and “left” is Baer’s law (sometimes called the Baer-Babinet law; Babinet generalized Baer’s law to the case of rivers flowing not only in the meridional direction, which Baer did not study).

The Meander River, which flows in Mesopotamia, can be considered the “record holder” of this kind of looping. “Its channel,- read in, - It is remarkable in that it has amazingly regular bends in their outlines, naturally turning into one another throughout the entire length of the river. Since geomorphologists paid attention to this river, the word “meander”, having firmly entered into hydrological terminology, began to mean a bend, and rivers with a winding channel, bends, shifting in plan, began to be called meandering.”

Rice. 25. Schematic representation of a riverbed (Einstein's illustration of Beer's law)

Einstein explains the Baer effect in the same terms that he used in the case of tea leaves. If in his experiment the driving force that ensured the circulation of the liquid (see Fig. 24) was a teaspoon, then in the area where the river makes a bend (Fig. 25), such a force is the centrifugal force directed towards the outside of the bend.

In this essay on the "tea cup experiment" there is no need to go into detail about Beer's law and its consequences. Let us only note that here, too, Einstein emphasizes the primary importance of friction of river water against fixed walls, which is the cause of the resulting circulation (Fig. 25). The “walls” in this case are the river bottom and its banks. The greater the velocity gradient near the coast, the more intense the erosion occurs. Not only the banks are asymmetrical, but also the river bottom: its right half is deeper due to erosion. The winding line of the river, in accordance with observations, gradually shifts in the direction of the flow; deeper rivers will have larger meanders.

Einstein's article received a number of responses. The classic of hydrodynamics from Göttingen, L. Prandtl, reacted especially quickly to it. Already in the June issue of the same magazine “Naturwissenschaften” (in which Einstein’s discussed article was published three months earlier), in the section “Letters and preliminary communications”, his short note appeared. In it, Prandtl, in a very delicate form, shows the validity of the fear expressed by Einstein and quoted by us that some of the considerations he developed are already known.

Prandtl pointed to several works of this kind, in which one can find simple theoretical considerations underlying the phenomenon considered by Einstein. Prandtl gives the corresponding priority to William Thomson (Lord Kelvin), who back in 1877 published a study on this topic - about river beds. Prandtl writes that Thomson's work is not very well known in Germany, and, as if excusing Einstein, adds that it was specifically pointed out to him. On the other hand, Prandtl writes, in Germany already in 1896 the works of I. Isaacsen (“On some effects of centrifugal forces on liquids and gases”) were published, in which what could be called “the effect of the Meander River” was investigated ” in application to a number of technical issues. As for the experimental side of the issue, it was subjected to careful study in the works contained in the collection “Construction Equipment,” which was published in 1925. So, in this case, Einstein also had grounds for the recognition that we made in the title of Chapter. 5.

There is a “big name rule”. No matter how solid the priority corrections obtained by historians of science are and proving that this or that phenomenon was discovered (explained) long before the great scientist became interested in it, it is firmly associated with his name. This happened with the theoretical explanation of Baer’s rule and the “cup of tea phenomenon.” We took the last words from a letter to Einstein from one of the founders of quantum mechanics, Erwin Schrödinger. In this letter, he calls the physical picture of the phenomenon developed by Einstein “charming” and adds: “By chance, a few days ago, my wife asked me about the “tea cup phenomenon,” but I was unable to give a reasonable explanation. She says that now she will never be able to stir tea without remembering you.”[ , With. 331).

This “phenomenon” found its way not only into the correspondence of great physicists. In the “Collection of Problems in Elementary Physics” it is analyzed in detail and explained in the language of simple formulas in a series of sequentially posed and solved problems about the rotational motion of a liquid around the axis of the container containing it. Based on the equation (paraboloid of rotation) connecting the height of the funnel in the vessel with the angular velocity of rotation of the liquid, the authors consider the situation that arises after stopping stirring (in everyday language, after we remove a teaspoon from the cup). A circulation of liquid occurs, exactly as shown in Einstein’s diagrammatic drawing, and the tea leaves gather in the center of the cup.

More recently, Academician E.I. Zababakhin considered some cases of the motion of a viscous fluid. One of the paragraphs of his article is called “Movement of a fluid in a vessel”, and within the framework of this paragraph the “Einstein problem” is considered. Let us give a short excerpt from this beautiful article, both in form and content.

“In a cylinder with a bottom, as rotation accelerates, the bottom particles are drawn into a circular motion; by centrifugal force they move to the edges and do not return back. If such a cylinder is in the mode of rotational oscillations, then the particles at the bottom will spread to the sides, returning to the axis above it, which is clearly visible from the movement of colored streams from the permanganate crystals at the bottom. The movement in the ring vortex is directed oppositely to the usual one observed in a glass of tea, when rotation leads to centripetal movement at the bottom and the collection of tea leaves in its center. Rotational vibrations would, on the contrary, lead to clearing of the middle of the bottom. The behavior of tea leaves in a cup with a flat bottom attracted the attention of Einstein in 1926 (in connection with Baer’s consideration).”[ , With. 60].

And again, these arguments are illustrated by a drawing similar to Einstein’s, in which, for greater persuasiveness, at the bottom of the glass ( “cylinder with bottom”) E.I. Zababakhin depicted the tea leaves gathered there.

We will end this story with a small detail that shows how closely everything in this world is intertwined. Einstein's eldest son, Hans Albert Einstein (1904-1973), became a famous scientist. Having received higher education in Switzerland and defended his doctoral dissertation in the same Poly, where his father once studied, he emigrated to the United States before the outbreak of World War II and served as head of the department of hydraulics at the University of California at Berkeley. Among his most famous works, we should note studies of the movement of bottom sediments in rivers and shock waves, i.e. questions that actively interested his father!

Literature

1. Melcher N. Albert Einstein 1978. N 9. S. 23-26.

2. Sotin B.S. Application of high-frequency machines in radio transmitting devices // Proc. IIET. 1957. No. 11. P. 3-29.

Scientist Albert Einstein became famous for his scientific work, which allowed him to become one of the founders of theoretical physics. One of his most famous works is the general and special theories of relativity. This scientist and thinker has more than 600 works on a variety of topics.

Nobel Prize

In 1921, Albert Einstein won the Nobel Prize in Physics. He received the prize for discovery of the photoelectric effect.

At the presentation, other works of the physicist were also discussed. In particular, the theory of relativity and gravity was supposed to be evaluated after their confirmation in the future.

Einstein's theory of relativity

It is curious that Einstein himself explained his theory of relativity with humor:

If you hold your hand over the fire for one minute, it will seem like an hour, but an hour spent with your beloved girl will seem like one minute.

That is, time flows differently in different circumstances. The physicist also spoke in a unique way about other scientific discoveries. For example, everyone can be sure that it is impossible to do something definite until there is an "ignoramus" who will do it only because he does not know about the opinion of the majority.

Albert Einstein said that he discovered his theory of relativity completely by accident. One day he noticed that a car moving relative to another car at the same speed and in the same direction remains motionless.

These 2 cars, moving relative to the Earth and other objects on it, are at rest relative to each other.

The famous formula E=mc 2

Einstein argued that if a body generates energy in video radiation, then the decrease in its mass is proportional to the amount of energy released by it.

This is how the well-known formula was born: the amount of energy is equal to the product of the mass of the body and the square of the speed of light (E=mc 2). The speed of light is 300 thousand kilometers per second.

Even an insignificantly small mass accelerated to the speed of light will emit enormous amounts of energy. The invention of the atomic bomb confirmed the correctness of this theory.

short biography

Albert Einstein was born March 14, 1879 in the small German town of Ulm. He spent his childhood in Munich. Albert's father was an entrepreneur, his mother a housewife.

The future scientist was born weak, with a large head. His parents were afraid that he would not survive. However, he survived and grew, showing increased curiosity about everything. At the same time, he was very persistent.

Study period

Einstein was bored studying at the gymnasium. In his free time, he read popular science books. Astronomy aroused his greatest interest at that time.

After graduating from high school, Einstein went to Zurich and entered the polytechnic school. Upon completion, he receives a diploma physics and mathematics teachers. Alas, 2 whole years of searching for a job did not yield any results.

During this period, Albert had a hard time, and due to constant hunger, he developed liver disease, which tormented him for the rest of his life. But even these difficulties did not discourage him from studying physics.

Career and first successes

IN 1902 year, Albert gets a job at the Berne Patent Office as a technical expert with a small salary.

By 1905, Einstein already had 5 scientific papers. In 1909 he became professor of theoretical physics at the University of Zurich. In 1911 he became a professor at the German University in Prague, from 1914 to 1933 he was a professor at the University of Berlin and director of the Institute of Physics in Berlin.

He worked on his theory of relativity for 10 years and only completed it in 1916. In 1919 there was a solar eclipse. It was observed by scientists from the Royal Society of London. They also confirmed the probable correctness of Einstein's theory of relativity.

Emigration to the USA

IN 1933 The Nazis came to power in Germany. All scientific works and other works were burned. The Einstein family immigrated to the USA. Albert became a professor of physics at the Institute for Basic Research in Princeton. IN 1940 year he renounces German citizenship and officially becomes an American citizen.

In recent years, the scientist lived in Princeton, worked on a unified field theory, played the violin in moments of relaxation, and rode a boat on the lake.

Albert Einstein died April 18, 1955. After his death, his brain was studied for genius, but nothing exceptional was found.