Albert Einstein, the genius of the 20th century, received Nobel Prize in the year 1921. They awarded the Nobel Prize for his work on theoretical physics. The work on photoelectric effect & theory of relativity. He is very much famous among the student community. His research on relativity & the equation E = mc2 is much known & discussed.
As an average person, let us try to look at these theories in the simplest possible ways. His work is hard to understand.
Theory of relativity
For simplicity, let us divide this theory into three categories.
The classical theory of relativity
All objects in the universe move about each other. The Sun is constantly in motion & the galaxies are in motion. All the planets move around the Sun. Everything is in motion relative to each other. Thus, nothing is at absolute rest.
Let us imagine we are traveling on a train, moving at a certain speed. This speed is relative to the outside environment. We observe ourselves as stationary objects moving along with the train at the same velocity.
Imagine someone is standing outside & observe the train. One may say that we are traveling at the same speed as that of the train. It’s a relative phenomenon.
The Special theory of relativity
This theory deals with time dilation. Time dilation is slowing down. It seems absurd, but Einstein says time is also relative.
We know that speed = d/t. It’s our everyday observation. When we travel at the fastest velocity, time slows down. When the speed approaches that of light, time becomes zero. But to attain the speed of light by any object is not possible. Hence, time is also relative. Hence, a day in space is fifty years on planet earth.
Some amazing facts about planets
It is interesting to note that a year on the planet Earth has 365 days. But Mercury has 88 days, Venus-225 days, Mars-687 days, Jupiter-4333days, Saturn-10,333 days, Uranus-30687 days & one year of Neptune comprises 60,190 days.
Hence, time and distance are not the same for all. We know that time is different for Brahma in celestial worlds & for humans on the mother earth.
The general theory of relativity
According to this theory, mass affects space & time. As a layperson, we know is the planet earth moves around the Sun because of gravitational force. Thus, Newton explains this force as: ‘ every particle attracts every other particle in the universe with a force that is directly proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between their centers’
But this theory says the Sun does not pull on the Earth. It’s the enormous mass of the Sun that distorts space around it. Therefore, the Earth & other planets travel through the curved space known as orbits. This curve is space-time curvature. Gravity arises due to space-time curvature. Hence, gravity warp space & also can dilate time.
Someone has rightly said, ‘Matter tells space-time how to curve & space-time tells matter how to move.’ Hence, planets move around the sun in orbits following this curvature.
Life Story of Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein was born at the Ulm City of the German Empire on 14th March 1879. During this period, there was no electricity in the houses. It was the same year that Thomas Edison invented the electric bulb.
His father was an electrical engineer & sales agent, whereas his mother was a homemaker. Albert could not speak, even after three years. Parents were afraid of this abnormality. Mostly he remained mute. Anyhow, the boy was an odd one.
While in school, he was an average student. But, was good at mathematics & science. He was a silent boy who also loved music.
He received Bachelor’s degree from Swiss Federal Polytechnic in 1900. This degree was for teaching mathematics & physics.
During his studies, people knew him for skipping his classes. He was in love with a girl named Mileva Maric.
After completing his studies, he was jobless for about a year. Afterward, he got a job in a patent office of intellectual property as a proofreader & examiner of research papers in Bern, Switzerland.
This work was interesting for him & it was the turning point of his life.
Meanwhile, he married his girlfriend Mileva in 1903. Mileva gave birth to a son in the year 1904.
Einstein published five research papers in the journal ‘Annalena Der physique.’
Research papers were on time, mass, space, energy, photoelectric effect & theory of relativity.
He redefined the concept of Newton’s gravitational force by the general theory of relativity.
And by this time, he was famous as a scientist.
They invited him as a guest lecturer at the University of Bern. He became an associate professor at the University of Zurich in the year 1909. After a few years, they appointed him as a professor at German Charles Ferdinand University. Meanwhile, he published more papers on radiation mathematics & quantum theory.
In 1911, an unfortunate event took place. Mileva left him with his two sons, Hans & Aduard. The divorce was because of some personal problems. But later on, he married his cousin.
Einstein as a philosopher
He had his library. Besides the science books, there were books on philosophy. It also included ‘The Secrete Doctrine’ – A marvelous book on science, religion & philosophy published by Theosophical Society. Einstein was very much impressed by Mahatma Gandhi & met Rabindranath Tagore.
Einstein was afraid of the Nazis because they were against the Jewish people. He was a Jew. Therefore, he fled to the USA in the year 1933 & became a US citizen in the year- 1940.
Einstein died on 18th April-1955 in New Jersey, U.S.A.
Let us ponder over the brilliant saying he shared over the years.
‘Education is not the learning of the facts, but the training of the mind to think.’
0 Comments