Albert Einstein

Albert Einstein History ’ s most CELEBRATED SCIENTIST

This prize-winning physicist’s groundbreaking theories about the Universe transformed modern thinking.

Young Einstein with his sister, Maja

By the way… My fascination with physics began with a magnetic compass I was given as a boy.

Growing genius

Born in Ulm, Germany, in 1879, Albert Einstein was slow to speak and talked in whispers. After finishing school, he started an office job in Switzerland and filled his spare time by WRITING scientific theories about space, time, and motion.

Who came before…

In 1881, Polish physics teacher

albert a Michelson measured the speed of light with the greatest accuracy at that time. This data helped form

Einstein’s theory of relativity. German theoretical physicist Max Planck was the first to put forward quantum theory, which explained atomic and subatomic processes.

This won him the Nobel Prize in

Physics in 1918.

The 1905 publication of Einstein’s theory of special relativity showed that space and time are linked and can change. A decade later, he expanded this theory to include GRAVITY and named it the theory of general relativity. By now, Einstein believed that space and time were one thing, called spacetime.

Famous formula

Einstein is best known for his equation E = mc², which is used to calculate ENERGY.

E is for energy, m is mass, and c is the speed of light (299,792 km/s or 186,282 miles/s). The formula shows that even a tiny amount of matter can have a massive amount of energy. This helped physicists understand that they could harness a lot of energy from atoms. Einstein’s original paper on the theory of special and general relativity was first published in German. The Nobel prize ceremony in Stockholm, Sweden

Did you know? Einstein published more than 300 scientific papers during his lifetime.

Einstein was elevated to superstar status when his scientific equations and theories of relativity were proven correct, advancing modern physics forever. How he changed the world

Ahead of his time

Einstein received the NOBEL PRIZE in Physics in 1921, and travelled the world giving lectures. After his death in 1955, his brain was donated to research. The autopsy revealed that his brain was smaller than average, but the area for mathematical reasoning was larger.

What came after…

Einstein’s famous equation

E = mc² was proved when the first nuclear bomb exploded in 1945. The energy inside atoms was released in huge nuclear reactions. Einstein wrote a theory about the principle behind a laser beam. Today, lasers are used in a variety of tasks, such as cutting metal, performing surgery, and reading

DVDs and barcodes.