Chapter 9: Einstein and Relativity Theory (319 KB) - D Cassidy Books

3637_CassidyTX_09 6/14/02 12:08 PM Page 409
9.2 ALBERT EINSTEIN 409
high-school mathematics and physics teacher. He was a good but not an
outstanding student, often carried along by his friends. The mathematics
and physics taught there were at a high level, but Albert greatly disliked
the lack of training in any of the latest advances in Newtonian physics or
Maxwellian electromagnetism. Einstein mastered these subjects entirely by
studying on his own.
One of Einstein’s fellow students was Mileva Marić, a young Serbian
woman who had come to Zurich to study physics, since at that time most
other European universities did not allow women to register as full-time
students. A romance blossomed between Mileva and Albert. Despite the
opposition of Einstein’s family, the romance flourished. However, Mileva
gave birth to an illegitimate daughter in 1902. The daughter, Liserl, was
apparently given up for adoption. Not until later did Einstein’s family finally
accede to their marriage, which took place in early 1903. Mileva and
Albert later had two sons, Hans Albert and Eduard, and for many years
were happy together. But they divorced in 1919.
Another difficulty involved Einstein’s career. In 1900 and for sometime
after, it was headed nowhere. For reasons that are still unclear, probably
anti-Semitism and personality conflicts, Albert was continually passed over
for academic jobs. For several years he lived a discouraging existence of
temporary teaching positions and freelance tutoring. Lacking an academic
sponsor, his doctoral dissertation which provided further evidence for the
existence of atoms was not accepted until 1905. Prompted by friends of the
family, in 1902 the Federal Patent Office in Bern, Switzerland, finally offered
Einstein a job as an entry-level patent examiner. Despite the full-time
work, 6 days per week, Albert still found time for fundamental research in
physics, publishing his five fundamental papers in 1905.
The rest, as they say, was history. As the importance of his work became
known, recognized at first slowly, Einstein climbed the academic ladder,
arriving at the top of the physics profession in 1914 as Professor of Theoretical
Physics in Berlin.
In 1916, Einstein published his theory of general relativity. In it he provided
a new theory of gravitation that included Newton’s theory as a special
case. Experimental confirmation of this theory in 1919 brought Einstein
world fame. His earlier theory of 1905 is now called the theory of
special relativity, since it excluded accelerations.
When the Nazis came to power in Germany in January 1933, Hitler being
appointed chancellor, Einstein was at that time visiting the United
States, and vowed not to return to Germany. He became a member of the
newly formed Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton. He spent the rest
of his life seeking a unified theory which would include gravitation and
electromagnetism. As World War II was looming, Einstein signed a letter