Einstein wrote five research papers in 1905, which laid the foundation for Modern Physics. Coinciding with the centenary of Einstein’s “Miraculous Year”, the United Nation has declared 2005 as the International Year of Physics.
1879-1955
Einstein
Credit: American Institute of Physics
Albert Einstein was awarded the
Nobel Prize
for Physics in 1921 for "for
his services to Theoretical Physics and especially for his discovery of the law
of the photoelectric effect". Sir Isaac Newton wrote to his bitter rival,
Robert Hooke, "If I have seen farther, it is by
standing on the shoulders of giants".
This is how breakthroughs in science are achieved, when giants stand
on the shoulders of giants! Einstein was extremely smart to realize many
important experimental results of his time. In this page we list the great
experiments of 19th and 20th centuries that shaped what
is known today as Modern Physics. Each listing is linked to a detailed site.
Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds. - Einstein
Department activities for the International Physics Year
San Fernando Observatory | CSUN | College of Mathematics and Science | Department of Physics and Astronomy
The 1905
Papers
1. "A New Determination of Molecular
Dimensions" (Einstein's doctoral dissertation) (30 April 1905)
Buchdruckerei K. J. Wyss,
This is Einstein's doctoral
dissertation, submitted to the
2. "On the motion of small
particles suspended in liquids at rest required by the molecular-kinetic theory
of heat." (Brownian motion paper) (May 1905; received 11
May 1905), Annalen
der Physik, 17(1905), pp. 549-560.
In this paper Einstein
relates the random motion small particles suspended in water to Brownian motion
and develops the kinetic theory of heat. The prediction is a powerful test of
the truth of the kinetic theory of heat. It provides a way to estimate
Avogadro's number.
3. "On the electrodynamics of moving
bodies" (special relativity) (June 1905; received 30 June 1905)
Annalen der Physik, 17(1905), pp. 891-921.
In this paper, Einstein
develops the special theory of relativity. The absence of ether was already demonstrated
by the Michelson-Morley Experiment. The result of this experiment was fully
exploited in developing the theoretical idea here. Einstein shows that Maxwell-Lorentz electrodynamics has in fact always obeyed a
principle of relativity of inertial motion. This is a classic example of how a
negative result leads to profound idea.
Annalen der Physik, 18(1905), pp. 639-41.
A brief follow-up to the
special relativity paper that derives famous relation E = mc2.
Annalen der Physik, 17(1905), pp. 132-148.
In this paper, Einstein gives
his famous theory of Photoelectric effect. He looks at the thermodynamic
properties of high frequency heat radiation and finds that this radiation
behaves just like a collection of many spatially localized "quanta"
of energy of magnitude hf,
where h is Planck's constant and f is frequency. This was a revolutionary
idea leading to his Noble Prize.
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