“A person begins to live only then
when he manages to surpass himself "

Albert Einstein is a famous physicist, the creator of the theory of relativity, the author of numerous works on quantum physics, one of the creators of the modern stage in the development of this science.

The future Nobel laureate was born on March 15, 1879 in the small German town of Ulm. The family came from an ancient Jewish family. Pope Herman was the owner of a company that stuffed mattresses and pillows with feathers. Einstein's mom was the daughter of a famous maize seller. In 1880 the family moved to Munich, where Hermann, together with his brother Jacob, set up a small business for the sale of electrical equipment. After some time, the Einsteins have a daughter, Maria.

In Munich, Albert Einstein goes to a Catholic school. As the scientist recalled, at the age of 13 he stopped trusting the beliefs of religious fanatics. Having joined science, he began to look at the world in a different way. All that was said in the Bible now did not seem plausible to him. All this formed a person in him who was skeptical of everything, especially authorities. From childhood, the most vivid impressions of Albert Einstein were Euclid's book "Beginnings" and a compass. At the request of his mother, little Albert began to get involved in playing the violin. The craving for music has stuck in the heart of the scientist for a long time. In the future, while in the States, Albert Einstein gave a concert to all emigrants from Germany, performing Mozart's compositions on the violin.

While studying at the gymnasium, Einstein was not an excellent student (except in mathematics). He did not like the method of memorizing the material, as well as the attitude of teachers to students. Therefore, he often argued with teachers.

In 1894 the family moved again. This time to Pavia - a small town near Milan. The Einstein brothers are moving their production here.

In the fall of 1895, the young genius comes to Switzerland to enroll in a school. He dreamed of teaching physics. He perfectly passes the exam in mathematics, but the future scientist fails the tests in botany. Then the director prompted the young guy to take the exam in Aarau in order to re-enroll a year later.

In the Arau school, Albert Einstein actively studies Maxwell's electromagnetic theory. In September 1897 he successfully passed the exams. With a certificate in hand, he entered Zurich, where he soon met the mathematician Grossman and Mileva Marich, who would later become his wife. After a certain time, Albert Einstein renounces German citizenship and takes Swiss. However, for this it was necessary to pay 1000 francs. But there was no money, since the family was in a difficult financial situation. Albert Einstein's relatives move to Milan after going broke. In the same place, Albert's father again creates a company for the sale of electrical equipment, but without his brother.

Einstein liked the teaching style at the Polytechnic, because the authoritarian attitude of the teachers was absent. The young scientist felt better. The learning process was also fascinating because the lectures were led by such geniuses as Adolf Hurwitz and Hermann Minkowski.

Science in the life of Einstein

In 1900, Albert completes his studies in Zurich and receives a diploma. This gave him the right to teach physics and mathematics. The teachers assessed the knowledge of the young scientist at high level, but they did not want to help in their future career. The following year, he receives Swiss citizenship, but he still cannot find a job. There were part-time jobs in schools, but this was not enough for life. Einstein went on a hunger strike for days, which caused a liver disorder. Despite all the difficulties, Albert Einstein tried to devote more time to science. In 1901, a Berlin journal published a paper on the theory of capillarity, where Einstein analyzed the forces of attraction in atoms of a liquid.

Fellow student Grossman helps Einstein and gets him a job at the patent office. Here Albert Einstein has been working for 7 years, evaluating patent applications. In 1903 he worked in the Bureau on a permanent basis. The nature and style of work allowed the scientist to engage in the study of problems related to physics in his free time.

In 1903, Einstein received a letter from Milan that his father was dying. Hermann Einstein passed away after his son arrived.

On January 7, 1903, the young scientist marries his friend from the Polytechnic Mileva Maric. Later, from marriage with her, Albert has three children.

Einstein's discoveries

In 1905, Einstein's work on the Brownian motion of particles was published. The work of the Englishman Brown already had an explanation. Einstein, without colliding with the work of the scientist before, gave his theory a certain completeness and the possibility of conducting experiments. In 1908, the experiments of the Frenchman Perrin confirmed Einstein's theory.

In 1905, another work of the scientist was published, devoted to the formation and transformation of light. In 1900, Max Planck had already proved that the spectral content of radiation can be explained if the radiation is presented as continuous. He was convinced that the light was emitted in portions. Einstein, on the other hand, put forward the theory that light is absorbed by parts and consists of quanta. This assumption allowed the scientist to explain the reality of the "red border" (the limiting frequency, below which the electrons are not knocked out of the body).

The scientist applied the quantum theory in relation to other phenomena that the classics could not consider in detail.

In 1921 he was awarded the title of Nobel laureate.

Theory of relativity

Despite the many articles written, the scientist gained worldwide fame thanks to his theory of relativity, which was first voiced in 1905 in one bulletin. Even in his youth, the scientist thought about what he would appear in front of an observer who would follow the light wave at the speed of light. He didn't accept the concept of ether.

Albert Einstein suggested that for any object, no matter how it moves, the speed of light is the same. The scientist's theory is comparable to Lorentz's formulas for time transformation. However, Lorentz's transformations were indirect, having no connection with time.

Professorship

At 28, Einstein was extremely popular. In 1909 he became a professor at the Zurich Polytechnic, and later at a university in the Czech Republic. After a certain time, he nevertheless returned to Zurich, but after 2 years he accepted the offer to become the director of the Department of Physics in Berlin. Einstein's citizenship was restored. Work on the theory of relativity lasted for many years, and already with the participation of Comrade Grossman, the outline of the draft theory was published. The final version was formulated in 1915. This was the greatest achievement in physics in decades.

Einstein was able to answer the question of what mechanism contributes to the gravitational interaction between objects. The scientist suggested that the structure of space can act as such an object. Albert Einstein thought that any body contributes to the curvature of space, making it different, while another body in relation to this one moves in the same space and is influenced by the first body.

The theory of relativity gave impetus to the development of other theories, which were later confirmed.

American period of a scientist's life

In America, he became a professor at Princeton University, continuing to develop field theory that would combine gravity and electromagnetism.

At Princeton, Professor Einstein was a real celebrity. But the people saw him as a good-natured, modest, strange person. His passion for music has not faded away. He often performed in an ensemble of physicists. The scientist was also fond of sailing, saying that it helps to reflect on the problems of the universe.

He was one of the main ideologues of the formation of the state of Israel. In addition, Einstein was invited to the presidency of this country, but he refused.

The main tragedy of the scientist's life was the idea of ​​the atomic bomb. Observing the growing power of the German state, in 1939 he sent a letter to the American Congress, which prompted the development and creation of weapons of mass destruction. Later, Albert Einstein regretted it, but it was already too late.

In 1955, at Princeton, the great natural scientist died of an aortic aneurysm. But for a long time, many will remember his quotes, which have become truly great. He said that we must not lose faith in humanity, since we ourselves are people. The biography of the scientist is undoubtedly very fascinating, but it is the quotations written by him that help to delve into his life and work, which play the role of a preface in the "book about the life of a great man."

A few wisdoms from Albert Einstein

At the heart of every challenge is opportunity.

Logic can lead you from point A to point B, and imagination can take you anywhere ...

Outstanding personalities are formed not through beautiful speeches, but by their own work and its results.

If you live as if nothing in this world is a miracle, then you can do whatever you want and you will not have obstacles. If you live as if everything is a miracle, then you can enjoy even the smallest manifestations of beauty in this world. If you live in two ways at the same time, then your life will be happy and productive.

Albert Einstein was a great genius. The facts about Einstein indicate that this man was able to change our view of the world and turn science upside down. Everyone has heard the name of this great genius. But few people know Interesting Facts about Einstein, about the events of his life; about how he reached the heights in the field of science.

1. The facts of Einstein's biography confirm that this person always became irritable when “we” was said in his presence.

2. Einstein's mother in childhood considered her son inferior. He did not speak until the age of 3, was lazy and was slow.

3. Einstein urged to avoid fiction, because it changes the view of the world.

4. The second wife of Albert Einstein was his second cousin on the side of his father.

5. Einstein requested that his brain not be examined after death. But his brain was stolen several hours after his death.

6. The most recognizable and popular photograph of Einstein is considered to be the one with his tongue hanging out. He made it in spite of annoying journalists when they asked to smile.

7 Einstein was asked to take his place after the death of the president.

8 The Israeli banknote features a portrait of Albert Einstein.

9 Einstein became the first proponent in the struggle for civil law.

10. At the age of 15, Albert already knew what integral and differential calculations are and knew how to use them in practice.

11.After the death of Einstein, it was possible to find his notebook, which was completely covered with calculus.

12 Einstein had to work as an electrician.

13. For an autograph, Einstein asked people for $ 1. After that, he donated all the collected money to charity.

14. Einstein could not pay alimony to his wife. He suggested that if she received the Nobel Prize, she should give all the money.

15. Albert Einstein is ranked 7th in the "Dead Celebrity Earnings" ranking.

16. Einstein spoke 2 languages.

17 Albert Einstein preferred to smoke his pipe.

18. Love for music was in the blood of the great genius. His mother was a pianist, and he was fond of playing the violin.

19 Einstein's favorite hobby was sailing. He could not swim.

20. Most often, a genius did not wear socks, because he did not like to wear them.

21. Einstein had an illegitimate daughter with Mileva, who gave up her career for the sake of the child.

22. The great genius died at the age of 76.

23. Before his death, he refused the operation.

24. Einstein strongly opposed Nazism.

25. Albert Einstein was Jewish by nationality.

Photo of Albert Einstein with his wife Elsa in The grand canyon Colorado, Arizona, USA. 1931 year.

26. Einstein's last words remained a mystery. An American woman was sitting next to him, and he spoke his words in German.

27. For the first time, Einstein was nominated for Nobel prize for the theory of relativity. This happened in 1910.

28. The eldest son of Einstein, named Hans, was the only one who continued the family line.

29. Einstein's youngest son ended his life in a psychiatric clinic. He suffered from dementia.

30.The first marriage of the great genius lasted 11 years.

31. Einstein has always looked sloppy.

32. Albert Einstein, having a first wife, could bring other women into the house and spend the night with them.

34. Einstein began playing the violin at the age of 6.

35. Albert Einstein is considered one of the founders of the Hebrew University in Israel.

36 God for this genius was a faceless image.

37. Albert Einstein created the theory of general relativity at the height of the First World War.

38. Einstein had Swiss citizenship.

39 It was not until his declining years that Einstein met true love.

40. The gray matter in Einstein's brain was different from everyone else.

41. Albert Einstein was a frequent guest of the bachelor parties, which were held by Janos Plesch.

42. Great genius was always mocked in elementary school.

43. Only study was boring for Albert.

44. The wife of Albert Einstein, Mileva Marich, was called by his mother “ middle-aged woman”, Although their age difference with their son was only 4 years.

45. After graduation, Einstein spent 2 years without work.

46. ​​At the end of his life, Albert Einstein was diagnosed with a terrible disease - aortic aneurysm.

46. ​​Lavish funeral after the death of the great genius was not arranged.

47. Albert Einstein's schooling ended in Switzerland.

48. Teachers believed that nothing good will come of this person.

49. Einstein had a specific type of thinking.

50. The last work of Albert Einstein was burned.

Albert Einstein was born in 1879 in Ulm, Germany. His father traded in electrical equipment, his mother ran a household. The family later moved to Munich, where young Albert entered a Catholic school. Einstein continued his education at the Higher Technical School in Zurich, after which he was promised a career as a school teacher of mathematics and physics.

For a long time, the future famous physicist could not find a teaching position, so he became a technical assistant in the Swiss patent office. Dealing with patents, the scientist could trace the connection between the achievements of modern science and technical innovations, which greatly expanded his scientific horizons. In his spare time, Einstein dealt with issues directly related to physics.

In 1905, he managed to publish several important works that were devoted to Brownian motion, quantum theory and the theory of relativity. The great physicist was the first to introduce into science a formula that reflected the relationship between mass and energy. This relationship formed the basis of the principle of conservation of energy, established in relativism. All modern nuclear power engineering is based on Einstein's formula.

Einstein and his theory of relativity

Einstein formulated the foundations of the famous theory of relativity by 1917. His concept substantiated the principle of relativity and transferred it to systems that are capable of moving with acceleration along curved paths. General relativity has become an expression of the relationship between the space-time continuum and the distribution of mass. Einstein built his concept on the theory of gravitation, proposed by Newton.

The theory of relativity was a truly revolutionary concept for its time. Its recognition was helped by the facts observed by scientists, confirming the calculations of Einstein. World fame came to the scientist after the 1919 year solar eclipse, observations of which have shown the validity of the conclusions of this brilliant theoretical physicist.

For his works in the field of theoretical physics, Albert Einstein was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1922. Later, he seriously dealt with the issues of quantum physics, its statistical component. V last years life physicist worked on the creation of a unified field theory, in which he intended to combine the provisions of the theory of electromagnetic and gravitational interactions. But Einstein did not manage to complete this work.

The discovery of the theory of relativity was surrounded by serious but little-known accusations of plagiarism, Einstein, David Hilbert and his supporters. It all started with the fact that Hilbert announced that he was the first to come to general theory relativity and that his work was copied by Einstein without proper reference. Einstein denied the accusations, claiming that it was Hilbert who copied several of Einstein's earlier works.

At first, most people assumed that both scientists were independently working on general relativity, and that Hilbert had submitted a paper with the correct equations five days before Einstein. Nevertheless, after historians decided to look into the issue, they discovered that it was Hilbert who borrowed several ideas from Einstein, without mentioning his name.

Apparently, the evidence initially presented by Hilbert lacked an important step, without which it was wrong. By the time Hilbert's work was published, he had already corrected the error. And he contrasted his work with Einstein's, which was published much earlier.

He did great in high school

Einstein was a great student high school... Moreover, he was so good at mathematics that he studied mathematical analysis at age 12, three years earlier than usual. At the age of 15, Einstein wrote an advanced essay that became the basis for his later work in the theory of relativity.

The myth that Einstein did badly in school was born out of the difference in labeling systems between German and Swiss schools. When Einstein switched from a German school to a school in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland, the classification system - from 1 to 6 (as we have from 5 to 1) - was reversed. A score of 6, which denoted the lowest score, became the highest, and the one denoting the highest score became the lowest score.

However, Einstein flunked the college entrance exam. Before getting to Aargau, which is where the myth of poor studies came from, he tried to enter the Federal Polytechnic School in Switzerland. And although he passed the exams in mathematics and physics remarkably, in some unscientific subjects, especially in French, he scored few points.

His inventions

During Einstein's lifetime, he was credited with several inventions, including the Einstein refrigerator, which he invented with his friend and colleague physicist Leo Szilard. Unlike conventional refrigerators, Einstein's refrigerator did not use electricity. He chilled food in an absorption process that uses pressure changes between gases and liquids to lower the temperature in the food chamber.

Einstein wanted to invent his own refrigerator after he heard about the death of a German family, poisoned by toxic gases leaked from an ordinary refrigerator. In the 1800s, mechanical compressors in refrigerators could have defective seals that leaked poisonous gases such as sulfur dioxide and methyl chloride.

Einstein also invented the pump and blouse. The blouse had two sets of buttons sewn parallel to each other. One set of buttons would fit a thin person, and another would fit a heavier person. A skinny person who bought an Einstein blouse could put on weight and just switch to a different set of buttons. Just like a curvy person who has lost weight. Saving.

The loophole that could have made the US a dictator

Kurt Gödel was among scientists who fled to the United States from Nazi-controlled territories during World War II. Unlike Einstein, Gödel struggled to acquire American citizenship. When he was finally invited for a citizenship interview, he had to bring two people with him to vouch for his behavior. Gödel took friends, Oskar Morgenstern and Einstein.

Gödel read a lot, preparing for the interview, which quite by accident was conducted by Judge Philip Foreman, a friend of Einstein. When Foreman expressed the hope that the United States was not and never will be a dictatorial state, Gödel objected, saying that the United States could well acquire a dictatorship because of a loophole in the Constitution.

He was about to explain, but Einstein interrupted Gödel, as his answer could deprive him of his chances of obtaining citizenship. Judge Foreman quickly resumed the interview and Gödel became a US citizen.

This incident became known only thanks to Morgenstern's diary entry. However, it does not say what the loophole was or how the United States could become a dictatorship. No one knows which part of the Constitution contains an obvious loophole, but there are speculations that Gödel was thinking about Article 5, which allows for constitutional amendments. It is possible that some amendments could legally destroy it.

The FBI followed Einstein from 1933, when he arrived in the United States, until his death in 1955. The Bureau tapped his phone, intercepted the letter, and searched his trash for evidence that might point to a suspicious group or activity, including spying on Soviet Union... At one point, the FBI even teamed up with the Immigration Service in search of a reason to deport a scientist. Einstein was suspected of being an anti-government radical or communist because of his political views and connections with pacifist and human rights groups.

Prior to Einstein's arrival in the United States, the Women's Patriotic Corporation sent a 16-page letter to the State Department protesting the scientist's entry into the country. She argued that even Joseph Stalin was less associated with communist groups than Einstein.

As a result, the State Department thoroughly questioned Einstein about his political beliefs before issuing a visa. Angry, Einstein angrily replied to his interviewers that the American people begged him to come to the United States and he would not tolerate being treated like a suspect. Having already received citizenship, Einstein remained in the United States, even knowing that he was under surveillance. On one occasion, he even told the Polish ambassador that their conversation was secretly recorded.

He regretted his involvement in the atomic bomb

Einstein never took part in the US government program that created the first nuclear bombs during World War II. Even if he wanted to participate, he would be refused for security reasons. Scientists who took part in the project were also forbidden to meet with him.

Einstein's only contribution was the signing of a letter asking President Roosevelt to develop an atomic bomb. Together with physicist Leo Szilard, Einstein wrote a letter after learning that German scientists had split the uranium atom.

Although Einstein knew about the extremely destructive power of the atomic bomb, he got involved in the first place because he feared that the Germans would be the first to make the bomb. But later he regretted writing and signing the letter. Hearing that the US dropped the first atomic bomb to Hiroshima, he replied: "Woe is me." Einstein later admitted that he would not have signed the letter if he had known that the Germans would never make a bomb.

Born in 1910, Eduard was the second son of Einstein and his wife Mileva Mari. Edward (nicknamed "Tete" or "Tetel") was often ill as a child and was diagnosed as schizophrenic at the age of 20. Mileva, who divorced Einstein in 1919, first took care of Edward, but later placed him in a psychiatric hospital.

Einstein was not surprised when Tete was diagnosed like this. Mileva's sister suffered from schizophrenia and Tete often displayed behavior that indicated illness. Einstein fled Germany to the United States a year after Tete was hospitalized. Although Einstein often visited his sons when they were all living in Europe, when they got to America, he limited himself to letters alone.

Einstein's letters to Edward were rare, but very sincere. In one letter, Einstein compared humans to the sea, noting that they could be "affable and friendly" or "tempestuous and challenging." He added that he would like to see his son in the coming spring. Unfortunately, the Second broke out. World War and Einstein never saw Tete again.

After Mileva's death in 1948, Tete remained in the hospital for another nine years. He spent eight years with a foster family, but returned to the hospital when his foster mother fell ill. Tete died in 1965.

Einstein was a heavy smoker

Einstein loved his violin and pipe more than anything else. A heavy smoker, he once said that he believed smoking was necessary for calmness and "objective judgment" in people. When his doctor prescribed him to get rid of bad habit, Einstein put a pipe in his mouth and lit a cigarette. Sometimes he also picked up cigarette butts in the streets to light it in his pipe.

Einstein received a lifetime membership of the Montreal Pipe Smokers Club. Once he fell overboard during a boat trip, but managed to save the treasured pipe from the water. Apart from the many manuscripts and letters, the pipe remains one of the few personal belongings of Einstein that we have.

He loved women

When Einstein wasn't working for E = mc ^ 2, smoking, writing letters, or designing a blouse, he entertained himself with women. His letters show how much he loved women, or, in the words of Einstein himself, how much women loved him.

In an interview with NBC News, Hanoch Gutfreund, chairman of the Albert Einstein World's Fair at the Hebrew University, described Einstein's marriage to his second wife Elsa as a "marriage of convenience." Gutfreund also believes that 3,500 pages of Einstein's letters, published in 2006, indicate that Einstein was not as bad a father and husband as was initially thought.

Admitting that he could not stay with one woman, Einstein was frank with Elsa about his extramarital affairs. He often wrote to her in letters that many women gathered around him, which he himself described as unwanted attention. While married, he changed at least six girlfriends, including Estella, Ethel, Tony and Margarita.

In a 1931 letter to his stepdaughter Margot, Einstein wrote: “It is true that M. followed me to England and her persecution is spiraling out of control. Of all the ladies, I am actually attached only to Mrs. L., absolutely harmless and decent. "

Einstein's biggest mistake

Einstein may have been a brilliant scientist, but he was far from perfect. In fact, he made at least seven mistakes in various proofs E = mc ^ 2. However, in 1917 he admitted his "biggest blunder." He added the cosmological constant - represented by the Greek letter lambda - to the equations of general relativity. The lambda represented a force that counteracts the pull of gravity. Einstein added the lambda because most scientists believed the universe was stable at the time.

Einstein later removed the constant when he found that his previous equations were correct and that the universe was actually expanding. But in 2010, scientists figured out that the lambda equations may well turn out to be true. Lambda can explain "dark energy", a theoretical force that opposes gravity and.

Biography

Albert Einstein (German Albert Einstein, IPA [ˈalbɐt ˈaɪ̯nʃtaɪ̯n] (i); March 14, 1879, Ulm, Württemberg, Germany - April 18, 1955, Princeton, New Jersey, USA) - theoretical physicist, one of the founders of modern theoretical physics , laureate of the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1921, public figure and humanist. He lived in Germany (1879-1893, 1914-1933), Switzerland (1893-1914) and the USA (1933-1955). Honorary Doctor of about 20 leading universities in the world, a member of many Academies of Sciences, including a foreign honorary member of the USSR Academy of Sciences (1926).

(1905).
Within its framework - the law of interrelation of mass and energy: E = mc ^ 2.
General theory of relativity (1907-1916).
Quantum theory of the photoelectric effect.
Quantum theory of heat capacity.
Bose - Einstein quantum statistics.
The statistical theory of Brownian motion, which laid the foundations for the theory of fluctuations.
The theory of induced radiation.
Theory of light scattering by thermodynamic fluctuations in a medium.

He also predicted "quantum teleportation" and predicted and measured the Einstein-de Haas gyromagnetic effect. Since 1933 he worked on problems of cosmology and unified field theory. Actively opposed the war, against the use of nuclear weapons, for humanism, respect for human rights, mutual understanding between peoples.

Einstein played a decisive role in the popularization and introduction of new physical concepts and theories. First of all, this refers to the revision of the understanding of the physical essence of space and time and to the construction of a new theory of gravity to replace the Newtonian one. Einstein also, along with Planck, laid the foundations of quantum theory. These concepts, which have been repeatedly confirmed by experiments, form the foundation of modern physics.

early years

Albert Einstein was born on March 14, 1879 in the southern German city of Ulm, into a poor Jewish family.

Father, Hermann Einstein (1847-1902), was at that time a co-owner of a small business for the production of feather stuffing for mattresses and feather beds. Mother, Pauline Einstein (née Koch, 1858-1920), came from the family of a wealthy corn merchant Julius Derzbacher (in 1842 he changed his last name to Koch) and Jetta Bernheimer. In the summer of 1880, the family moved to Munich, where Hermann Einstein, together with his brother Jacob, founded a small electrical equipment trading company. Albert's younger sister Maria (Maya, 1881-1951) was born in Munich.

Primary education Albert Einstein received at the local Catholic school. According to his own recollections, as a child, he experienced a state of deep religiosity, which ended at the age of 12. Through reading popular science books, he came to the conviction that much of what is stated in the Bible cannot be true, and the state is deliberately engaged in deceiving the younger generation. All this made him a freethinker and forever gave rise to a skeptical attitude towards authorities. From childhood impressions, Einstein later recalled as the most powerful: the compass, Euclid's Beginnings and (around 1889) Immanuel Kant's Critique of Pure Reason. In addition, at the initiative of his mother, he began playing the violin at the age of six. Einstein's passion for music continued throughout his life. While already in the United States in Princeton, in 1934, Albert Einstein gave a charity concert, where he performed the works of Mozart on the violin for the benefit of scientists and cultural figures who had emigrated from Nazi Germany.

In the gymnasium (now the Albert Einstein Gymnasium in Munich), he was not among the first students (with the exception of mathematics and Latin). The entrenched system of mechanical memorization of material by students (which, as he later said, harms the very spirit of learning and creative thinking), as well as the authoritarian attitude of teachers towards students, made Albert Einstein resentful, so he often entered into disputes with his teachers.

In 1894, the Einsteins moved from Munich to the Italian city of Pavia, near Milan, where the brothers Hermann and Jacob transferred their firm. Albert himself remained with relatives in Munich for some time to finish all six classes of the gymnasium. Having never received his school-leaving certificate, in 1895 he joined his family in Pavia.

In the fall of 1895, Albert Einstein arrived in Switzerland to take entrance exams at the Higher Technical School (Polytechnic) in Zurich and upon graduation to become a physics teacher. Brilliantly showing himself in the exam in mathematics, he at the same time failed the exams in botany and French, which did not allow him to enter the Zurich Polytechnic. However, the director of the school advised young man go to the final class of a school in Aarau (Switzerland) in order to get a certificate and repeat admission.

At the Aarau cantonal school, Albert Einstein devoted his free time to studying Maxwell's electromagnetic theory. In September 1896, he successfully passed all final exams at school, with the exception of the French language exam, and received a certificate, and in October 1896 he was admitted to the Polytechnic at the pedagogical faculty. Here he made friends with a fellow student, mathematician Marcel Grossman (1878-1936), and also met a Serbian student of the Faculty of Medicine Mileva Maric (4 years older than him), who later became his wife. In the same year, Einstein renounced German citizenship. To obtain Swiss citizenship, it was required to pay 1000 Swiss francs, but the poor financial situation of the family allowed him to do this only 5 years later. His father’s enterprise was completely ruined this year, Einstein’s parents moved to Milan, where Hermann Einstein, already without his brother, opened a company selling electrical equipment.

The style and methodology of teaching at the Polytechnic differed significantly from the ossified and authoritarian German school, so further education was given to the young man more easily. He had first-class teachers, including the wonderful geometer Hermann Minkowski (Einstein often missed his lectures, which he sincerely regretted) and the analyst Adolf Hurwitz.

The beginning of scientific activity

In 1900, Einstein graduated from the Polytechnic with a diploma in mathematics and physics. He passed the exams successfully, but not brilliantly. Many professors highly appreciated the abilities of Einstein's student, but no one wanted to help him continue his scientific career. Einstein himself later recalled:

I was bullied by my professors, who did not like me because of my independence and closed my way to science.

Although in the next year, 1901, Einstein received Swiss citizenship, but until the spring of 1902 he could not find a permanent job - even as a school teacher. Due to the lack of earnings, he literally starved, not eating for several days in a row. This became the cause of liver disease, from which the scientist suffered until the end of his life.

Despite the hardships that haunted him in the years 1900-1902, Einstein found time to further study physics. In 1901, the Berlin Annals of Physics published his first article "Consequences of the theory of capillarity" (Folgerungen aus den Capillaritätserscheinungen), devoted to the analysis of the forces of attraction between atoms of liquids on the basis of the theory of capillarity.

A former classmate, Marcel Grossman, helped to overcome the difficulties, who recommended Einstein for the position of an expert III class in the Federal Bureau of Patent Inventions (Bern) with a salary of 3,500 francs a year (during his student years he lived on 100 francs a month).

Einstein worked in the Patent Office from July 1902 to October 1909, primarily in the peer review of applications for inventions. In 1903 he became a permanent employee of the Bureau. The nature of his work allowed Einstein to devote his free time to research in the field of theoretical physics.

In October 1902, Einstein received news from Italy of his father's illness; Hermann Einstein died a few days after his son's arrival.

On January 6, 1903, Einstein married twenty-seven-year-old Mileva Maric. They had three children.

Since 1904, Einstein collaborated with the leading physics journal of Germany, Annals of Physics, providing annotations of new articles on thermodynamics for its abstract applications. Probably, the authority gained by this in the editorial office contributed to his own publications in 1905.

1905 - "Year of Miracles"

1905 went down in the history of physics as the "Year of Miracles" (lat. Annus Mirabilis). This year, the Annals of Physics published three outstanding papers by Einstein that marked the beginning of a new scientific revolution:

"On the electrodynamics of moving bodies" (German Zur Elektrodynamik bewegter Körper). The theory of relativity begins with this article. “On one heuristic point of view concerning the origin and transformation of light” (German: Über einen die Erzeugung und Verwandlung des Lichts betreffenden heuristischen Gesichtspunkt). One of the works that laid the foundation for quantum theory. Über die von der molekularkinetischen Theorie der Wärme geforderte Bewegung von in ruhenden Flüssigkeiten suspendierten Teilchen) is a work devoted to the motion of the essentially prodigious Brownian physics. Einstein was often asked the question: how did he manage to create the theory of relativity? Half in jest, half in earnest, he replied:

Why exactly did I create the theory of relativity? When I ask myself this question, it seems to me that the reason is the following. A normal adult does not think about the problem of space and time at all. In his opinion, he had already thought about this problem in childhood. I developed intellectually so slowly that space and time occupied my thoughts when I became an adult. Naturally, I could penetrate deeper into the problem than a child with normal inclinations.

Special theory of relativity

Throughout the 19th century, the hypothetical medium, ether, was considered the material carrier of electromagnetic phenomena. However, by the beginning of the 20th century, it became clear that the properties of this medium are difficult to reconcile with classical physics. On the one hand, the aberration of light suggested that the ether is absolutely motionless, on the other hand, the Fizeau experiment testified in favor of the hypothesis that the ether is partially carried away by the moving matter. The experiments of Michelson (1881), however, showed that no "etheric wind" exists.

In 1892, Lorenz and (independently) George Francis Fitzgerald suggested that the ether is motionless, and the length of any body is reduced in the direction of its movement. The question remained, however, why the length was reduced exactly in such a proportion to compensate for the "etheric wind" and prevent the existence of the ether from being detected. At the same time, the question was studied under what transformations of coordinates Maxwell's equations are invariant. The correct formulas were first written by Larmor (1900) and Poincaré (1905), the latter proved their group properties and proposed to call them Lorentz transformations.

Poincaré also gave a generalized formulation of the principle of relativity, which also includes electrodynamics. Nevertheless, he continued to recognize the ether, although he was of the opinion that it could never be discovered. In his speech at the Physics Congress (1900) Poincaré for the first time expresses the idea that the simultaneity of events is not absolute, but is a conditional agreement ("convention"). It was also suggested that the speed of light is limiting. Thus, at the beginning of the 20th century, there were two incompatible kinematics: classical, with Galileo's transformations, and electromagnetic, with Lorentz's transformations.

Einstein, reflecting on these topics largely independently, suggested that the first is an approximate case of the second for low speeds, and that what was considered the properties of the ether is in fact a manifestation of the objective properties of space and time. Einstein came to the conclusion that it is absurd to involve the concept of ether only to prove the impossibility of observing it, and that the root of the problem lies not in dynamics, but deeper - in kinematics. In the above-mentioned fundamental article "On the electrodynamics of moving bodies" he proposed two postulates: the general principle of relativity and the constancy of the speed of light; Lorentz contraction, Lorentz transformation formulas, the relativity of simultaneity, the uselessness of ether, a new formula for the addition of velocities, an increase in inertia with velocity, etc. are easily derived from them. In his other article, which came out at the end of the year, the formula E = mc ^ 2, which determines the relationship between mass and energy.

Some scientists immediately accepted this theory, which was later called the "special theory of relativity" (SRT); Planck (1906) and Einstein himself (1907) constructed relativistic dynamics and thermodynamics. Former teacher Einstein, Minkowski, in 1907 presented a mathematical model of the kinematics of the theory of relativity in the form of the geometry of a four-dimensional non-Euclidean world and developed the theory of invariants of this world (the first results in this direction were published by Poincaré in 1905).

However, many scientists considered the "new physics" too revolutionary. It canceled ether, absolute space and absolute time, revised Newton's mechanics, which for 200 years served as the support of physics and was invariably confirmed by observations. Time in the theory of relativity flows differently in different frames of reference, inertia and length depend on speed, movement faster than light impossible, there is a "twins paradox" - all these unusual consequences were unacceptable for the conservative part of the scientific community. The matter was also complicated by the fact that at first SRT did not predict any new observed effects, and the experiments of Walter Kaufmann (1905-1909) were interpreted by many as a refutation of the cornerstone of SRT - the principle of relativity (this aspect finally became clear in favor of SRT only in 1914-1916). Some physicists, after 1905, tried to develop alternative theories(for example, Ritz in 1908), but later it became clear that these theories were irreparably different from experiment.

Many prominent physicists have remained faithful to classical mechanics and the concept of aether, among them Lorentz, J.J. Thomson, Lenard, Lodge, Nernst, Vin. At the same time, some of them (for example, Lorentz himself) did not reject the results of the special theory of relativity, but interpreted them in the spirit of Lorentz's theory, preferring to look at the space-time concept of Einstein-Minkowski as a purely mathematical device.

Experiments to test the General Theory of Relativity (see below) became the decisive argument in favor of the truth of the STR. Over time, experimental evidence of the service station itself gradually accumulated. Quantum field theory, the theory of accelerators are based on it, it is taken into account in the design and operation of satellite navigation systems (here even amendments to the general theory of relativity were needed), etc.

Quantum theory

To solve the problem that went down in history under the name "Ultraviolet catastrophe", and the corresponding agreement between theory and experiment, Max Planck suggested (1900) that the emission of light by matter occurs discretely (indivisible portions), and the energy of the emitted portion depends on the frequency of light. For some time, even the author himself considered this hypothesis as a conditional mathematical device, but Einstein, in the second of the above-mentioned articles, proposed a far-reaching generalization of it and successfully applied it to explain the properties of the photoelectric effect. Einstein put forward the thesis that not only radiation, but also the propagation and absorption of light are discrete; later these portions (quanta) were called photons. This thesis allowed him to explain two mysteries of the photoelectric effect: why the photocurrent did not arise at any frequency of light, but only starting from a certain threshold, depending only on the type of metal, and the energy and speed of the emitted electrons did not depend on the intensity of light, but only on its frequency. Einstein's theory of the photoelectric effect corresponded with high accuracy to experimental data, which was later confirmed by the experiments of Millikan (1916).

Initially, these views met with a misunderstanding of most physicists, even Planck Einstein had to convince in the reality of quanta. Gradually, however, experimental data accumulated that convinced skeptics of the discreteness of electromagnetic energy. The last point in the controversy was put by the Compton effect (1923).

In 1907, Einstein published the quantum theory of heat capacity (the old theory at low temperatures was at odds with experiment). Later (1912) Debye, Born and Karman refined Einstein's theory of heat capacity, and excellent agreement was reached with experiment.

Brownian motion

In 1827, Robert Brown observed under a microscope and subsequently described the chaotic movement of pollen floating in water. Einstein, based on molecular theory, developed a statistical and mathematical model of such a movement. Based on his diffusion model, it was possible, among other things, to estimate with good accuracy the size of molecules and their number per unit volume. At the same time, Smoluchowski, whose article was published several months later than Einstein's, came to similar conclusions. Einstein presented his work on statistical mechanics under the title "New Determination of the Sizes of Molecules" to the Polytechnic as a dissertation and in the same 1905 received the title of Doctor of Philosophy (equivalent of a candidate natural sciences) in physics. The following year, Einstein developed his theory in a new article, "On the theory of Brownian motion," and subsequently returned to this topic several times.

Soon (1908), Perrin's measurements fully confirmed the adequacy of Einstein's model, which became the first experimental proof of the molecular kinetic theory, which was actively attacked by positivists in those years.

Max Born wrote (1949): "I think that these studies of Einstein, more than all other works, convince physicists of the reality of atoms and molecules, of the validity of the theory of heat and the fundamental role of probability in the laws of nature." Einstein's work on statistical physics is cited even more often than his work on the theory of relativity. The formula he derived for the diffusion coefficient and its relation to the variance of coordinates turned out to be applicable in the most general class of problems: Markov diffusion processes, electrodynamics, etc.

Later, in his article "On the Quantum Theory of Radiation" (1917), Einstein, proceeding from statistical considerations, for the first time suggested the existence of a new type of radiation that occurs under the influence of an external electromagnetic field("Induced emission"). In the early 1950s, a method was proposed for amplifying light and radio waves, based on the use of stimulated radiation, and in subsequent years it formed the basis of the theory of lasers.

Bern - Zurich - Prague - Zurich - Berlin (1905-1914)

The works of 1905 brought Einstein, although not immediately, worldwide fame. On April 30, 1905, he sent to the University of Zurich the text of his doctoral dissertation on "Redefining Molecular Sizes." The reviewers were Professors Kleiner and Burkhard. On January 15, 1906, he received his Ph.D. in physics. He corresponded and met with the most famous physicists in the world, and Planck in Berlin included the theory of relativity in his training course... In letters he is called "Mr. Professor", but for another four years (until October 1909) Einstein continues to serve in the Patent Office; in 1906 he was promoted (he became a class II expert) and his salary was increased. In October 1908, Einstein was invited to read an elective course at the University of Bern, but without any payment. In 1909, he attended a convention of naturalists in Salzburg, where the elite of German physics had gathered, and for the first time met with Planck; in 3 years of correspondence, they quickly became close friends and maintained this friendship for the rest of their lives.

After the convention, Einstein finally got a paid post of extraordinary professor at the University of Zurich (December 1909), where his old friend Marcel Grossmann taught geometry. The pay was small, especially for a family with two children, and in 1911 Einstein did not hesitate to accept an invitation to head the physics department at the German University in Prague. During this period, Einstein continued to publish a series of articles on thermodynamics, relativity, and quantum theory. In Prague, he intensifies research on the theory of gravitation, with the goal of creating a relativistic theory of gravity and fulfilling the old dream of physicists - to exclude Newtonian long-range action from this area.

In 1911, Einstein participated in the First Solvay Congress (Brussels) dedicated to quantum physics. There, his only meeting with Poincaré, who continued to reject the theory of relativity, took place, although he personally treated Einstein with great respect.

A year later, Einstein returned to Zurich, where he became a professor at his native Polytechnic and lectured there in physics. In 1913, he attended the Congress of Naturalists in Vienna, visited 75-year-old Ernst Mach; Once Mach's criticism of Newtonian mechanics made a huge impression on Einstein and ideologically prepared the theory of relativity for innovations.

At the end of 1913, on the recommendation of Planck and Nernst, Einstein received an invitation to head the physics research institute being created in Berlin; he is also credited as a professor at the University of Berlin. In addition to being close to Planck's friend, this position had the advantage that it did not oblige him to be distracted by teaching. He accepted the invitation, and in the pre-war 1914 year, a dedicated pacifist Einstein arrived in Berlin. Mileva and her children remained in Zurich, their family broke up. They officially divorced in February 1919.

Swiss citizenship, neutral country, helped Einstein withstand militaristic pressure after the outbreak of the war. He did not sign any "patriotic" appeals, on the contrary - in co-authorship with the physiologist Georg Friedrich Nicholas he compiled an anti-war "Appeal to the Europeans" in opposition to the chauvinist manifesto of the 93's, and in a letter to Romain Rolland wrote:

Will future generations thank our Europe, in which three centuries of the most intense cultural work have led only to the fact that religious madness has been replaced by nationalistic madness? Even scientists different countries act like they've had their brains amputated.

General theory of relativity (1915)

Even Descartes announced that all processes in the Universe are explained by the local interaction of one type of matter with another, and from the point of view of science, this thesis of short-range action was natural. However, the Newtonian theory of universal gravitation sharply contradicted the thesis of short-range action - in it, the force of attraction was transmitted incomprehensibly through a completely empty space, and infinitely quickly. Essentially, the Newtonian model was purely mathematical, without any physical content. For two centuries, attempts were made to correct the situation and get rid of mystical long-range action, fill the theory of gravitation with real physical content - especially since after Maxwell, gravity remained the only haven for long-range action in physics. The situation became especially unsatisfactory after the approval of the special theory of relativity, since Newton's theory was incompatible with the Lorentz transformations. However, before Einstein, no one succeeded in rectifying the situation.

Einstein's main idea was simple: the material carrier of gravity is space itself (more precisely, space-time). The fact that gravity can be considered as a manifestation of the properties of the geometry of four-dimensional non-Euclidean space, without involving additional concepts, is a consequence of the fact that all bodies in a gravitational field receive the same acceleration (Einstein's "principle of equivalence"). With this approach, the four-dimensional space-time turns out to be not a “flat and indifferent scene” for material processes, it has physical attributes, and, first of all, metrics and curvature, which affect these processes and themselves depend on them. If special theory of relativity is a theory of non-curved space, then general theory of relativity, according to Einstein's plan, should have considered a more general case, space-time with a variable metric (pseudo-Riemannian manifold). The cause of the curvature of space-time is the presence of matter, and the more its energy, the stronger the curvature. The Newtonian theory of gravitation is an approximation of the new theory, which is obtained if we take into account only the "curvature of time", that is, the change in the time component of the metric (space in this approximation is Euclidean). The propagation of perturbations of gravity, that is, changes in the metric during the movement of gravitating masses, occurs with a finite speed. From this moment on, long-range action disappears from physics.

The mathematical formalization of these ideas was quite time consuming and took several years (1907-1915). Einstein had to master tensor analysis and create its four-dimensional pseudo-Riemannian generalization; in this he was helped by consultations and joint work, first with Marcel Grossman, who became the co-author of Einstein's first articles on tensor theory of gravity, and then with the "king of mathematicians" of those years, David Hilbert. In 1915, the field equations of Einstein's general theory of relativity (GTR), generalizing Newtonian ones, were published almost simultaneously in articles by Einstein and Hilbert.

A new theory of gravitation predicted two previously unknown physical effect, fully confirmed by observations, and also accurately and completely explained the secular displacement of the perihelion of Mercury, which for a long time puzzled astronomers. After that, the theory of relativity became practically the generally accepted foundation of modern physics. In addition to astrophysics, general relativity found practical use, as mentioned above, in Global Positioning Systems (GPS), where coordinates are calculated with very significant relativistic corrections.

Berlin (1915-1921)

In 1915, in a conversation with the Dutch physicist Vander de Haaz, Einstein proposed a scheme and calculation of the experiment, which after successful implementation received the name "Einstein - de Haas effect". The result of the experiment inspired Niels Bohr, who two years earlier created a planetary model of the atom, since he confirmed that there are circular electron currents inside atoms, and electrons do not emit in their orbits. It was these propositions that Bohr made the basis of his model. In addition, it was found that the total magnetic moment is twice the expected; the reason for this was clarified when the spin was discovered - the proper angular momentum of the electron.

After the end of the war, Einstein continued to work in the former areas of physics, and also engaged in new areas - relativistic cosmology and the "Unified field theory", which, according to his plan, was to unite gravity, electromagnetism and (preferably) the theory of the microworld. The first article on cosmology, "Cosmological Considerations for General Relativity," appeared in 1917. After that, Einstein experienced a mysterious "invasion of diseases" - in addition to serious problems with the liver, a stomach ulcer was discovered, then jaundice and general weakness. For several months he did not get out of bed, but continued to work actively. Only in 1920 did the diseases recede.

In June 1919, Einstein married his mother's cousin Elsa Loeventhal (née Einstein) and adopted her two children. At the end of the year, his seriously ill mother Paulina moved in with them; she died in February 1920. Judging by the letters, Einstein took her death hard.

In the fall of 1919, the English expedition of Arthur Eddington at the time of the eclipse recorded the deflection of light predicted by Einstein in the gravitational field of the Sun. In this case, the measured value corresponded not to Newton's, but to Einstein's law of gravitation. The sensational news was reprinted by newspapers all over Europe, although the essence of the new theory was most often presented in a shamelessly distorted form. Einstein's fame reached unprecedented heights.

In May 1920, Einstein, along with other members of the Berlin Academy of Sciences, was sworn in as a civil servant and was legally considered a German citizen. However, he retained Swiss citizenship until the end of his life. In the 1920s, receiving invitations from everywhere, he traveled extensively across Europe (with a Swiss passport), lecturing for scientists, students and for an inquisitive public. He also visited the USA, where a special welcome resolution of the Congress (1921) was adopted in honor of the eminent guest. At the end of 1922, he visited India, where he had a long relationship with Tagore, and China. Einstein met winter in Japan, where he was caught by the news that he had been awarded the Nobel Prize.

Nobel Prize (1922)

Einstein was repeatedly nominated for the Nobel Prize in Physics. The first such nomination (for the theory of relativity) took place, at the initiative of Wilhelm Ostwald, already in 1910, but the Nobel Committee considered experimental evidence the theory of relativity is inadequate. Further, the nomination of Einstein's candidacy was repeated annually, except for 1911 and 1915. Among the recommended over the years were such prominent physicists as Lorenz, Planck, Bohr, Wien, Chwolson, de Haaz, Laue, Zeeman, Kamerling-Onnes, Hadamar, Eddington, Sommerfeld and Arrhenius.

However, the members of the Nobel Committee for a long time did not dare to award the prize to the author of such revolutionary theories. In the end, a diplomatic solution was found: the prize for 1921 was awarded to Einstein (in November 1922) for the theory of the photoelectric effect, that is, for the most indisputable and well-tested work in the experiment; however, the text of the decision contained a neutral addition: "... and for other works in the field of theoretical physics."

As I already informed you by telegram, the Royal Academy of Sciences at its meeting yesterday decided to award you a prize in physics over the past year, thereby celebrating your work in theoretical physics, in particular the discovery of the law of the photoelectric effect, without taking into account your work on the theory of relativity and theories of gravity, which will be evaluated after their confirmation in the future.

Since Einstein was away, Rudolf Nadolny, the German ambassador to Sweden, accepted the award on his behalf on December 10, 1922. Previously, he asked for confirmation whether Einstein was a citizen of Germany or Switzerland; The Prussian Academy of Sciences officially assured that Einstein was a German citizen, although his Swiss citizenship was also recognized as valid. On his return to Berlin, Einstein received the insignia accompanying the award personally from the Swedish ambassador.

Naturally, Einstein devoted the traditional Nobel speech (in July 1923) to the theory of relativity.

Berlin (1922-1933)

In 1923, completing his journey, Einstein spoke in Jerusalem, where it was planned to open the Hebrew University soon (1925).

In 1924, the young Indian physicist Shatyendranath Bose, in a short letter, asked Einstein for help in publishing an article in which he put forward the assumption underlying modern quantum statistics. Bose proposed to consider light as a gas of photons. Einstein concluded that the same statistics can be used for atoms and molecules in general. In 1925, Einstein published an article by Bose in German translation, and then his own article, in which he outlined a generalized Bose model, applicable to systems of identical particles with integer spin, called bosons. On the basis of this quantum statistics, now known as the Bose-Einstein statistics, both physicists back in the mid-1920s theoretically substantiated the existence of the fifth state of aggregation of matter, the Bose-Einstein condensate.

The essence of the Bose - Einstein condensate consists in the transition of a large number of particles of an ideal Bose gas to a state with zero momentum at temperatures approaching absolute zero, when the de Broglie wavelength of thermal motion of particles and the average distance between these particles are reduced to one order of magnitude. Since 1995, when the first such condensate was obtained at the University of Colorado, scientists have practically proven the possibility of the existence of Bose - Einstein condensates from hydrogen, lithium, sodium, rubidium and helium.

As a person of great and universal authority, Einstein was constantly attracted during these years to various kinds of political actions, where he advocated social justice, internationalism and cooperation between countries (see below). In 1923, Einstein took part in organizing the Friends of the New Russia Society for Cultural Relations. Repeatedly called for the disarmament and unification of Europe, for the abolition of compulsory military service.

In 1928, Einstein saw off Lorentz's last journey, with whom he became very friends in his last years. It was Lorenz who nominated Einstein for the Nobel Prize in 1920 and supported her the following year.

In 1929, the world celebrated Einstein's 50th birthday noisily. The hero of the day did not take part in the celebrations and hid in his villa near Potsdam, where he enthusiastically grew roses. Here he received friends - scientists, Tagore, Emmanuel Lasker, Charlie Chaplin and others.

In 1931, Einstein visited the United States again. In Pasadena, he was greeted very warmly by Michelson, who had four months to live. Returning to Berlin in the summer, Einstein, in a speech before the Physical Society, paid tribute to the memory of the remarkable experimenter who laid the foundation stone of the theory of relativity.

In addition to theoretical research, Einstein also owned several inventions, including:

very low voltage meter (with Konrad Habicht);
a device that automatically determines the exposure time when photographing;
original hearing aid;
silent refrigerator (shared with Szilard);
gyro-compass.

Until about 1926, Einstein worked in so many areas of physics, from cosmological models to investigating the causes of river meanders. Further, with rare exceptions, he focuses his efforts on quantum problems and the Unified Field Theory.

The approval of Einstein's ideas (quantum theory and especially the theory of relativity) in the USSR was not easy. Some scientists, especially young people in science, embraced new ideas with interest and understanding, and already in the 1920s, the first Russian works and textbooks on these topics appeared. However, there were physicists and philosophers who strongly opposed the concepts of the "new physics"; among them, A.K. Timiryazev (the son of the famous biologist K.A.Timiryazev), who criticized Einstein even before the revolution, was especially active. After his articles in the journals Krasnaya Nov '(1921, No. 2) and Under the Banner of Marxism (1922, No. 4), Lenin's critical remarks followed:

If Timiryazev in the first issue of the magazine had to stipulate that a huge mass of representatives of the bourgeois intelligentsia of all countries had already seized on the theory of Einstein, who, according to Timiryazev, himself, according to Timiryazev, was seized by a huge mass of representatives of the bourgeois intelligentsia of all countries, then this does not refer to Einstein alone, but to a whole series, if not most of the great transformers of natural science, starting with late XIX century.

In the same year, 1922, Einstein was elected a foreign corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Nevertheless, in 1925-1926 Timiryazev published at least 10 anti-relativistic articles.

K.E. Tsiolkovsky did not accept the theory of relativity, who rejected relativistic cosmology and the limitation on the speed of movement, which undermined Tsiolkovsky's plans to populate space: the world. " Nevertheless, by the end of his life, apparently, Tsiolkovsky softened his position, because at the turn of the 1920s-1930s, in a number of works and interviews, he mentioned Einstein's relativistic formula E = mc ^ 2 without critical objections. However, Tsiolkovsky never resigned himself to the inability to move faster than light.

Although criticism of the theory of relativity among Soviet physicists ceased in the 1930s, the ideological struggle of a number of philosophers with the theory of relativity as "bourgeois obscurantism" continued and especially intensified after the removal of Nikolai Bukharin, whose influence previously softened the ideological pressure on science. The next phase of the campaign began in 1950; it was probably associated with similar in spirit the then campaigns against genetics (Lysenkoism) and cybernetics. Not long before that (1948) the publishing house "Gostekhizdat" published a translation of the book "Evolution of Physics" by Einstein and Infeld, equipped with an extensive preface entitled: "On ideological flaws in the book of A. Einstein and L. Infeld" Evolution of Physics "". Two years later, the magazine Sovetskaya Kniga published devastating criticism of both the book itself (for its “idealistic bias”) and the publishing house that published it (for an ideological error).

This article opened a whole avalanche of publications that were formally directed against the philosophy of Einstein, but at the same time they accused a number of major Soviet physicists of ideological errors - Ya. I. Frenkel, S. M. Rytov, L. I. Mandelstam and others. Soon the journal Voprosy Filosofii published an article by M. M. Karpov, Associate Professor of the Department of Philosophy at Rostov State University, "On the Philosophical Views of Einstein" (1951), where the scientist was accused of subjective idealism, disbelief in the infinity of the Universe and other concessions to religion. In 1952, an article was published by the prominent Soviet philosopher A.A. science ". Another prominent philosopher, IV Kuznetsov, declared during the 1952 campaign: "The interests of physical science urgently require deep criticism and decisive exposure of Einstein's entire system of theoretical views." However, the critical importance of the "atomic project" in those years, the authority and decisive position of the academic leadership prevented the defeat of Soviet physics, similar to the one that arranged for geneticists. After Stalin's death, the anti-Einstein campaign was quickly curtailed, although a considerable number of "Einstein's subverters" are still encountered today.

Other myths

In 1962, a logic puzzle was first published known as the Einstein Riddle. This name was probably given for advertising purposes, because there is no evidence that Einstein had anything to do with this mystery. She is also not mentioned in any of Einstein's biographies.
A famous biography of Einstein claims that in 1915, Einstein was allegedly involved in the design of a new model of a military aircraft. This occupation is difficult to reconcile with his pacifist beliefs. The study found, however, that Einstein was simply discussing one aerodynamic idea with a small airline — a cat-back wing (a hump at the top of the profile). The idea was unsuccessful and, as Einstein later put it, frivolous; however, a developed theory of flight did not yet exist.
Einstein is often referred to as a vegetarian. Although he supported this movement for many years, he did not begin to follow a strict vegetarian diet until 1954, about a year before his death.
There is an unconfirmed legend that before his death, Einstein burned his last scientific work containing a discovery potentially dangerous to humanity. This topic is often associated with the "Philadelphia Experiment". The legend is often mentioned in various media, based on which the film "The Last Equation" was shot.

Family

Einstein family tree
Hermann Einstein
Paulina Einstein (Koch)
Maya Einstein
Mileva Maric
Elsa Einstein
Hans Albert Einstein
Edward Einstein
Lieserl Einstein
Bernard Sizer Einstein
Karl Einstein

Scientific activity

List of scientific publications by Albert Einstein
History of the theory of relativity
History of quantum mechanics
General theory of relativity
The Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen paradox
Equivalence principle
Einstein's agreement
Einstein's ratio (molecular kinetic theory)
Special theory of relativity
Bose - Einstein statistics
Einstein's heat capacity theory
Einstein's equations
Equivalence of mass and energy