Biography:Albert Einstein
| Albert Einstein | |
|---|---|
| |
| Einstein in 1947 | |
| Born | 14 March 1879 Ulm, Kingdom of Württemberg, German Empire |
| Died | 18 April 1955 Princeton, New Jersey, United States
|
| Known for | Special relativity; general relativity; photoelectric effect; light quanta; Brownian motion |
| Awards | Nobel Prize in Physics (1921) |
Albert Einstein (1879-1955) was a theoretical physicist whose work reshaped modern physics. In quantum theory he is especially important for the light-quantum explanation of the photoelectric effect and for later debates about the foundations of quantum mechanics.
Quantum theory
In 1905 Einstein argued that light can behave as localized energy packets, later called photons. This idea explained the photoelectric effect and helped establish that quantization applies to radiation as well as matter.
Einstein also contributed to the theory of specific heats, stimulated emission, and the statistical interpretation of radiation. His later arguments about completeness, locality, and entanglement became central to the foundations of quantum mechanics.
Relativity and modern physics
Einstein developed special relativity and general relativity, changing the concepts of space, time, energy, and gravitation. Although relativity and quantum theory were historically distinct revolutions, both became foundations of twentieth-century physics.
Quantum Collection links
- Physics:Quantum photoelectric effect
- Physics:Quantum photon
- Physics:Quantum entanglement
- Physics:Quantum Measurement problem
- Physics:Quantum Wave-particle duality
References
- "Albert Einstein - Biographical". Nobel Prize Outreach. https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/physics/1921/einstein/biographical/.
- "Albert Einstein". https://www.britannica.com/biography/Albert-Einstein.
- Einstein, A. (1905). "On a heuristic point of view concerning the production and transformation of light". Annalen der Physik 17: 132-148. doi:10.1002/andp.19053220607.