Albert Einstein born - Mar 14, 1879 - HISTORY.com Albert Einstein born Publisher A+E Networks On March 14, 1879, Albert Einstein is born, the son of a Jewish electrical engineer in Ulm, Germany. Einstein’s theories of special and general relativity drastically altered man’s view of the universe, and his work in particle and energy theory helped make possible quantum mechanics and, ultimately, the atomic bomb. After a childhood in Germany and Italy, Einstein studied physics and mathematics at the Federal Polytechnic Academy in Zurich, Switzerland. He became a Swiss citizen and in 1905 was awarded a Ph.D. from the University of Zurich while working at the Swiss patent office in Bern. That year, which historians of Einstein’s career call the annus mirabilis–the “miracle year”–he published five theoretical papers that were to have a profound effect on the development of modern physics. In the first of these, titled “On a Heuristic Viewpoint Concerning the Production and Transformation of Light,” Einstein theorized that light is made up of individual quanta (photons) that demonstrate particle-like properties while collectively behaving like a wave.

The hypothesis, an important step in the development of quantum theory, was arrived at through Einstein’s examination of the photoelectric effect, a phenomenon in which some solids emit electrically charged particles when struck by light. This work would later earn him the 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics. In the second paper, he devised a new method of counting and determining the size of the atoms and molecules in a given space, and in the third he offered a mathematical explanation for the constant erratic movement of particles suspended in a fluid, known as Brownian motion. These two papers provided indisputable evidence of the existence of atoms, which at the time was still disputed by a few scientists. Einstein’s fourth groundbreaking scientific work of 1905 addressed what he termed his special theory of relativity. In special relativity, time and space are not absolute, but relative to the motion of the observer. Thus, two observers traveling at great speeds in regard to each other would not necessarily observe simultaneous events in time at the same moment, nor necessarily agree in their measurements of space. In Einstein’s theory, the speed of light, which is the limiting speed of any body having mass, is constant in all frames of reference.

In the fifth paper that year, an exploration of the mathematics of special relativity, Einstein announced that mass and energy were equivalent and could be calculated with an equation, E=mc2. Although the public was not quick to embrace his revolutionary science, Einstein was welcomed into the circle of Europe’s most eminent physicists and given professorships in Zýrich, Prague, and Berlin. In 1916, he published “The Foundation of the General Theory of Relativity,” which proposed that gravity, as well as motion, can affect the intervals of time and of space. According to Einstein, gravitation is not a force, as Isaac Newton had argued, but a curved field in the space-time continuum, created by the presence of mass. An object of very large gravitational mass, such as the sun, would therefore appear to warp space and time around it, which could be demonstrated by observing starlight as it skirted the sun on its way to earth. In 1919, astronomers studying a solar eclipse verified predictions Einstein made in the general theory of relativity, and he became an overnight celebrity.

Later, other predictions of general relativity, such as a shift in the orbit of the planet Mercury and the probable existence of black holes, were confirmed by scientists. During the next decade, Einstein made continued contributions to quantum theory and began work on a unified field theory, which he hoped would encompass quantum mechanics and his own relativity theory as a grand explanation of the workings of the universe. As a world-renowned public figure, he became increasingly political, taking up the cause of Zionism and speaking out against militarism and rearmament. In his native Germany, this made him an unpopular figure, and after Nazi leader Adolf Hitler became chancellor of Germany in 1933 Einstein renounced his German citizenship and left the country. He later settled in the United States, where he accepted a post at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey. He would remain there for the rest of his life, working on his unified field theory and relaxing by sailing on a local lake or playing his violin. He became an American citizen in 1940. In 1939, despite his lifelong pacifist beliefs, he agreed to write to President Franklin D.

Roosevelt on behalf of a group of scientists who were concerned with American inaction in the field of atomic-weapons research. Like the other scientists, he feared sole German possession of such a weapon. He played no role, however, in the subsequent Manhattan Project and later deplored the use of atomic bombs against Japan. After the war, he called for the establishment of a world government that would control nuclear technology and prevent future armed conflict. In 1950, he published his unified field theory, which was quietly criticized as a failure. A unified explanation of gravitation, subatomic phenomena, and electromagnetism remains elusive today. Albert Einstein, one of the most creative minds in human history, died in Princeton in 1955. Related Videos Albert Einstein - Biography, Facts and Pictures Albert Einstein Lived 1879 – 1955. Albert Einstein rewrote the laws of nature. He completely changed the way we understand the behavior of things as basic as light, gravity, and time. Although scientists today are comfortable with Einstein’s ideas, in his time, they were completely revolutionary. Most people did not even begin to understand them.

If you’re new to science, you’ll probably find that some of his ideas take time to get used to! Advertisements Quick Guide to Albert Einstein’s Scientific Achievements Albert Einstein: • provided powerful evidence that atoms and molecules actually exist, through his analysis of Brownian motion. • explained the photoelectric effect, proposing that light came in bundles. Bundles of light (he called them quanta) with the correct amount of energy can eject electrons from metals. • proved that everyone, whatever speed we move at, measures the speed of light to be 300 million meters per second in a vacuum. This led to the strange new reality that time passes more slowly for people traveling at very high speeds compared with people moving more slowly. • discovered the hugely important and iconic equation, E = mc2, which showed that energy and matter can be converted into one another. • rewrote the law of gravitation, which had been unchallenged since Isaac Newton published it in 1687. In his General Theory of Relativity, Einstein: » showed that matter causes space to curve, which produces gravity. » showed that the path of light follows the gravitational curve of space. » showed that time passes more slowly when gravity becomes very strong.

• became the 20th century’s most famous scientist when the strange predictions he made in his General Theory of Relativity were verified by scientific observations. • spent his later years trying to find equations to unite quantum physics with general relativity. This was an incredibly hard task for him to set himself. To date, it has still not been achieved. His Beginnings Albert Einstein was born on March 14, 1879 in Ulm, Germany. He was not talkative in his childhood, and until the age of three, he didn’t talk much. He spent his teenage years in Munich, where his family had an electric equipment business. As a teenager, he was interested in nature and showed a high level of ability in mathematics and physics. Einstein loved to be creative and innovative. He loathed the uncreative spirit in his school at Munich. His family’s business failed when he was aged 15, and they moved to Milan, Italy. Aged 16, he moved to Switzerland, where he finished high school. In 1896 he began to study for a degree at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich.

He didn’t like the teaching methods there, so he bunked classes to carry out experiments in the physics laboratory or play his violin. With the help of his classmate’s notes, he passed his exams; he graduated in 1900. Einstein was not considered a good student by his teachers, and they refused to recommend him for further employment. Einstein 1903 While studying at the Polytechnic, Einstein had learned about one of the biggest problems then baffling physicists. This was how to marry together Isaac Newton’s laws of motion with James Clerk Maxwell’s equations of electromagnetism. In 1902 he obtained the post of an examiner in the Swiss Federal patent office, and, in 1903, he wedded his classmate Mileva Maric. He had two sons with her but they later divorced. After some years Einstein married Elsa Loewenthal. Early Scientific Publications Einstein continued to work in the patent office, during which time he made most of his greatest scientific breakthroughs. The University of Zurich awarded him a Ph.D.

in 1905 for his thesis “A New Determination of Molecular Dimensions.” 1905: The Year of Miracles In 1905, the same year as he submitted his doctoral thesis, Albert Einstein published four immensely important scientific papers dealing with his analysis of: Brownian motion the equivalence of mass and energy the photoelectric effect special relativity Each of these papers on their own was a huge contribution to science. To publish four such papers in one year was considered to be almost miraculous. Einstein was just 26 years old. Mass Energy Equivalence Einstein gave birth in 1905 to what has become the world’s most famous equation: E = mc2 The equation says that mass (m) can be converted to energy (E). A little mass can make a lot of energy, because mass is multiplied by c2 where c is the speed of light, a very large number. A small amount of mass can make a large amount of energy. Conversion of mass in atomic nuclei to energy is the principle behind nuclear weapons and explains the sun’s source of energy. The Photoelectric Effect If you shine light on metal, the metal may release some of its electrons.

Einstein said that light is made up of individual ‘particles’ of energy, which he called quanta. When these quanta hit the metal, they give their energy to electrons, giving the electrons enough energy to escape from the metal. Einstein showed that light can behave as a particle as well as a wave. The energy each ‘particle’ of light carries is proportional to the frequency of the light waves. Einstein’s Special Theory of Relativity In Einstein’s third paper of 1905 he returned to the big problem he had heard about at university – how to resolve Newton’s laws of motion with Maxwell’s equations of light. His approach was the ‘thought experiment.’ He imagined how the world would look if he could travel at the speed of light. He realized that the laws of physics are the same everywhere, and regardless of what you did – whether you moved quickly toward a ray of light as it approached you, or quickly away from the ray of light – you would always see the light ray to be moving at the same speed – the speed of light!

This is not obvious, because it’s not how things work in everyday life, where, for example, if you move towards a child approaching you on a bike he will reach you sooner than if you move away from him. With light, it doesn’t matter whether you move towards or away from the light, it will take the same amount of time to reach you. This isn’t an easy thing to understand, so don’t worry about it if you don’t! (Unless you’re at university studying physics.) Every experiment ever done to test special relativity has confirmed what Einstein said. If the speed of light is the same for all observers regardless of their speed, then it follows that some other strange things must be true. In fact, it turns out that time, length, and mass actually depend on the speed we are moving at. The nearer the speed of light we move, the bigger differences we seen in these quantities compared with someone moving more slowly. For example, time passes more and more slowly as we move faster and faster. Einstein Becomes Known to the Wider Physics Community As people read Einstein’s papers and argued about their significance, his work gradually gained acceptance, and his reputation as a powerful new intellect in the world of physics grew.

In 1908 he began lecturing at the University of Bern, and the following year resigned from the Patent Office. In 1911 he became a professor of physics at the Karl-Ferdinand University in Prague, before returning to Zurich in 1912 to a professorship there. Working on the general theory of relativity, in 1911 he made his first predictions of how our sun’s powerful gravity would bend the path of light coming from other stars as it traveled past the sun. The General Theory of Relativity – Einstein Becomes Famous Worldwide A very, very rough approximation: the earth’s mass curves space. The moon’s speed keeps it rolling around the curve rather than falling to Earth. If you are on Earth and wish to leave, you need to climb out of the gravity well Einstein published his general theory of relativity paper in 1915, showing, for example, how gravity distorts space and time. Light is deflected by powerful gravity, not because of its mass (light has no mass) but because gravity has curved the space that light travels through. In 1919 a British expedition traveled to the West African island of Principe to observe an eclipse of the sun.

During the eclipse they could test whether light from far away stars passing close to the sun was deflected. They found that it was! Just as Einstein had said, space truly was curved. On November 7, 1919, the London Times’ headline read: Revolution in science – New theory of the Universe – Newtonian ideas overthrown. Honors and More Honors Albert Einstein was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1921. People are sometimes surprised to learn that the award was not made for his work in special or general relativity, but for his overall services to theoretical physics and one of the works from his miracle year specifically – the discovery of the law of the photoelectric effect in 1905. The Royal Society of London awarded him its prestigious Copely Medal in 1925 for his theory of relativity and contributions to the quantum theory. The Franklin Institute awarded him with the Franklin medal in 1935 for his work on relativity and the photo-electric effect. Universities around the world competed with one another to award him honorary doctorates, and the press wrote more about him than any other scientist – Einstein became a celebrity.

Einstein’s Later Years Einstein made his greatest discoveries when he was a relatively young man. In his later years he continued with science, but made no further groundbreaking discoveries. He became interested in politics and the state of the world. Einstein had been born German and a Jew. He died an American citizen in 1955. Einstein was in America when Hitler came to power. He decided it would be a bad idea to return to Germany, and renounced his German citizenship. Einstein did not practice Judaism, but strongly identified with the Jewish people persecuted by the Nazi Party, favoring a Jewish homeland in Palestine with the rights of Arabs protected. It was Einstein’s wish that people should be respected for their humanity and not for their country of origin or religion. Expressing his cynicism for nationalistic pride, he once said: “If relativity is proved right the Germans will call me a German, the Swiss will call me a Swiss citizen, and the French will call me a great scientist.

If relativity is proved wrong, the French will call me Swiss, the Swiss will call me a German, and the Germans will call me a Jew.” Advertisements Author of this page: The Doc Top image of Einstein digitally enhanced and colorized by this website. © All rights reserved. Cite this Page Please use the following MLA compliant citation: “Albert Einstein.” Famous Scientists. famousscientists.org. 1 Jul. 2014. Web. < The 10 Greatest Physicists in History Brahmagupta 10 of Science’s Best BAD ideas – Part… Isaac Newton Albert Einstein - Biographical Albert Einstein The Nobel Prize in Physics 1921 Albert Einstein Questions and Answers on Albert Einstein Albert Einstein was born at Ulm, in Württemberg, Germany, on March 14, 1879. Six weeks later the family moved to Munich, where he later on began his schooling at the Luitpold Gymnasium. Later, they moved to Italy and Albert continued his education at Aarau, Switzerland and in 1896 he entered the Swiss Federal Polytechnic School in Zurich to be trained as a teacher in physics and mathematics.

In 1901, the year he gained his diploma, he acquired Swiss citizenship and, as he was unable to find a teaching post, he accepted a position as technical assistant in the Swiss Patent Office. In 1905 he obtained his doctor's degree. During his stay at the Patent Office, and in his spare time, he produced much of his remarkable work and in 1908 he was appointed Privatdozent in Berne. In 1909 he became Professor Extraordinary at Zurich, in 1911 Professor of Theoretical Physics at Prague, returning to Zurich in the following year to fill a similar post. In 1914 he was appointed Director of the Kaiser Wilhelm Physical Institute and Professor in the University of Berlin. He became a German citizen in 1914 and remained in Berlin until 1933 when he renounced his citizenship for political reasons and emigrated to America to take the position of Professor of Theoretical Physics at Princeton * . He became a United States citizen in 1940 and retired from his post in 1945.

After World War II, Einstein was a leading figure in the World Government Movement, he was offered the Presidency of the State of Israel, which he declined, and he collaborated with Dr. Chaim Weizmann in establishing the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Einstein always appeared to have a clear view of the problems of physics and the determination to solve them. He had a strategy of his own and was able to visualize the main stages on the way to his goal. He regarded his major achievements as mere stepping-stones for the next advance. At the start of his scientific work, Einstein realized the inadequacies of Newtonian mechanics and his special theory of relativity stemmed from an attempt to reconcile the laws of mechanics with the laws of the electromagnetic field. He dealt with classical problems of statistical mechanics and problems in which they were merged with quantum theory: this led to an explanation of the Brownian movement of molecules. He investigated the thermal properties of light with a low radiation density and his observations laid the foundation of the photon theory of light. In his early days in Berlin, Einstein postulated that the correct interpretation of the special theory of relativity must also furnish a theory of gravitation and in 1916 he published his paper on the general theory of relativity.

During this time he also contributed to the problems of the theory of radiation and statistical mechanics. In the 1920's, Einstein embarked on the construction of unified field theories, although he continued to work on the probabilistic interpretation of quantum theory, and he persevered with this work in America. He contributed to statistical mechanics by his development of the quantum theory of a monatomic gas and he has also accomplished valuable work in connection with atomic transition probabilities and relativistic cosmology. After his retirement he continued to work towards the unification of the basic concepts of physics, taking the opposite approach, geometrisation, to the majority of physicists. Einstein's researches are, of course, well chronicled and his more important works include Special Theory of Relativity (1905), Relativity (English translations, 1920 and 1950), General Theory of Relativity (1916), Investigations on Theory of Brownian Movement (1926), and The Evolution of Physics (1938). Among his non-scientific works, About Zionism (1930), Why War?

(1933), My Philosophy (1934), and Out of My Later Years (1950) are perhaps the most important. Albert Einstein received honorary doctorate degrees in science, medicine and philosophy from many European and American universities. During the 1920's he lectured in Europe, America and the Far East, and he was awarded Fellowships or Memberships of all the leading scientific academies throughout the world. He gained numerous awards in recognition of his work, including the Copley Medal of the Royal Society of London in 1925, and the Franklin Medal of the Franklin Institute in 1935. Einstein's gifts inevitably resulted in his dwelling much in intellectual solitude and, for relaxation, music played an important part in his life. He married Mileva Maric in 1903 and they had a daughter and two sons; their marriage was dissolved in 1919 and in the same year he married his cousin, Elsa Löwenthal, who died in 1936. He died on April 18, 1955 at Princeton, New Jersey.

From Nobel Lectures , Physics 1901-1921, Elsevier Publishing Company, Amsterdam, 1967 This autobiography/biography was written at the time of the award and first published in the book series Les Prix Nobel . It was later edited and republished in Nobel Lectures . To cite this document, always state the source as shown above. * Albert Einstein was formally associated with the Institute for Advanced Study located in Princeton, New Jersey. Albert Einstein Albert Einstein Can You Believe It? There is a crater on the Moon named after Albert Einstein. Albert Einstein was born in 1879 in Ulm, Germany. He was the first child born to Hermann and Pauline Einstein. Though he attended school as a young boy, he also received instruction at home on Judaism and violin. By the age of twelve he had taught himself geometry. At the age of sixteen he failed an exam in order to qualify to train as an electrical engineer. He remained in school and developed anew plan for his future. Einstein decided to study math and physics so he could become a teacher. Einstein thought he would be good at this because he could think mathematically and abstractly while lacking imagination and practicality.

In 1896 he renounced his German citizenship. He was not a citizen of any country until 1901 when he became a citizen of Switzerland. In 1900 he graduated as a teacher of math and physics. His teachers did not think very highly of him though so he had difficulty being recommended for a job at a university. In 1901 he took a job as a temporary high school teacher and married Mileva Maritsch. The couple had two sons prior to divorcing. Einstein later married his cousin Elsa Einstein. From 1902 through 1909, Einstein worked in a patent office in Bern, Switzerland. While working in the patent office he published many papers on theoretical physics. He earned a Ph.D. in 1905. In 1905 Einstein wrote a paper on what is now known as the special theory of relativity. This paper contained two hypotheses. The first stated that the laws of physics had to have the same form in any frame of reference. The second hypothesis stated that the speed of light was a constant. Later that year Einstein also showed how mass and energy were equivalent.

Following an impressive few years of work, Einstein became a lecturer at the University of Bern. In 1909 he finally got a post at a university when he became a faculty member at the University of Zurich. In 1911 Einstein taught at Carl-Ferdinand University in Prague. The following year he returned to Germany to continue his work. In 1916 Einstein published his general theory of relativity. This theory linked gravitation , acceleration and the four dimensional space-time. With this theory he was able to account for the variations in the orbital motions of the planets. He also predicted that starlight in the vicinity of a massive object such as the Sun could be bent. This was confirmed in 1919 during a solar eclipse . This further increased the adulation with which the press viewed Einstein. He won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1921 for his work on the photoelectric effect. This work proposed that light be considered as consisting of particles called photons. Einstein further proposed that the energy the photon contains is proportional to the frequency of the radiation. Einstein was not only a scientist, but also a social activist and a humanitarian. He spoke out against the German involvement in World War I.

In 1920 a demonstration interrupted a lecture given by Einstein in Berlin. There was also growing criticism of his work by certain Germans. Einstein felt the disruptions and criticisms were occurring because he was Jewish. Einstein traveled the world lecturing and raising funds for a planned Hebrew University in Jerusalem. His hectic lifestyle led to a physical collapse in 1928. By 1930 he was once again travelling the world, especially the United States. On one of these visits he was offered a post at Princeton University in New Jersey. Einstein accepted, believing that he would spend seven months of the year in Munich and five months of the year in the United States. In December of 1932 he left for the United States. A month after his departure the Nazis assumed control of Germany. Einstein never returned to Germany. In 1935 Einstein was granted permanent residency in the United States and became a citizen in 1940. In 1944 he hand wrote his 1905 theory on relativity and allowed it to be auctioned. It sold for six million dollars, which he donated to the effort to win World War II.

The work resides in the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. By 1949 Einstein was in failing health. His health was so bad that when offered the presidency of Israel in 1952 he had to decline it. In 1955, one week prior to his death, he agreed to have his name appear on a manifesto calling for the end to nuclear weapons. He died in April of 1955 in Princeton, New Jersey. Einstein was cremated and his ashes were spread at an undisclosed location. In which country was Albert Einstein born? | Reference.com In which country was Albert Einstein born? A: Quick Answer Albert Einstein was born in Germany in 1879 to Jewish parents. Einstein attended a public German school, and he was also taught Judaism and given violin lessons at his home. Full Answer After making several visits to the United States, Einstein was given a position at Princeton University, and he became a permanent American resident in 1935 and eventually a citizen in 1940. In addition to being an American citizen, Einstein was a citizen of Switzerland.

He was offered the position of president in Israel in 1952; however, due to health reasons, he declined the position. Einstein died in 1955 in Princeton, New Jersey. Albert Einstein Biography - life, story, wife, school, young, information, born, time, year Albert Einstein Biography Princeton, Massachusetts German-born American physicist and scientist The German-born American physicist (one who studies matter and energy and the relationships between them) Albert Einstein revolutionized the science of physics. He is best known for his theory of relativity, which holds that measurements of space and time vary according to conditions such as the state of motion of the observer. Early years and education Albert Einstein was born on March 14, 1879, in Ulm, Germany, but he grew up and obtained his early education in Munich, Germany. He was a poor student, and some of his teachers thought he might be retarded (mentally handicapped); he was unable to speak fluently (with ease and grace) at age nine. Still, he was fascinated by the laws of nature, experiencing a deep feeling of wonder when puzzling over the invisible, yet real, force directing the needle of a compass.

He began playing the violin at age six and would continue to play throughout his life. At age twelve he discovered geometry (the study of points, lines, and surfaces) and was taken by its clear and certain proofs. Einstein mastered calculus (a form of higher mathematics used to solve problems in physics and engineering) by age sixteen. Einstein's formal secondary education ended at age sixteen. He disliked school, and just as he was planning to find a way to leave without hurting his chances for entering the university, his teacher expelled him because his bad attitude was affecting his classmates. Einstein tried to enter the Federal Institute of Technology (FIT) in Zurich, Switzerland, but his knowledge of subjects other than mathematics was not up to par, and he failed the entrance examination. On the advice of the principal, he first obtained his diploma at the Cantonal School in Aarau, Switzerland, and in 1896 he was automatically admitted into the FIT. There he came to realize that he was more interested in and better suited for physics than mathematics. Einstein passed his examination to graduate from the FIT in 1900, but due to the opposition of one of his professors he was unable to go on to obtain the usual university assistantship.

In 1902 he was hired as an inspector in the patent office in Bern, Switzerland. Six months later he married Mileva Maric, a former classmate in Zurich. They had two sons. It was in Bern, too, that Einstein, at twenty-six, completed the requirements for his doctoral degree and wrote the first of his revolutionary scientific papers. Famous papers Thermodynamics (the study of heat processes) made the deepest impression on Einstein. From 1902 until 1904 he reworked the foundations of thermodynamics and statistical mechanics (the study of forces and their effect on matter); this work formed the immediate background to his revolutionary papers of 1905, one of which was on Brownian motion. In Brownian motion, first observed in 1827 by the Scottish botanist (scientist who studies plants) Robert Brown (1773–1858), small particles suspended in a liquid such as water undergo a rapid, irregular motion. Einstein, unaware of Brown's earlier observations, concluded from his studies that such a motion must exist.

He was guided by the thought that if the liquid in which the particles are suspended is made up of atoms, they should collide with the particles and set them into motion. He found that the motion of the particles will in time experience a forward movement. Einstein proved that this forward movement is directly related to the number of atoms per gram of atomic weight. Brownian motion is to this day considered one of the most direct proofs of the existence of atoms. Another of Einstein's ideas in 1905 was that under certain conditions radiant energy Albert Einstein. Library of Congress . (light) behaves as if it is made up not of waves but of particles of energy. He presented an equation for the photoelectric effect, in which electrons (particles in the outer portion of an atom that are said to have a "negative" electrical charge equal to that of protons, particles with a larger mass that are said to have a "positive" electrical charge) are ejected from a metal surface that has been exposed to light.

Einstein proved that the electrons are not ejected in a constant stream but like bullets from a gun, in units, or "quanta." Although Einstein's famous equation for the photoelectric effect—for which he won the Nobel Prize in physics in 1921—appears obvious today, it was an extremely bold prediction in 1905. Not until years later did R. A. Millikan finally succeed in confirming it to everyone's everyone's satisfaction. The theory of relativity came from Einstein's search for a general law of nature that would explain a problem that had occurred to him when he was sixteen: if one runs at, say, 4 4 miles per hour (6.4 kilometers per hour) alongside a train that is moving at 4 4 miles per hour, the train appears to be at rest; if, on the other hand, it were possible to run alongside a ray of light, neither experiment nor theory suggests that the ray of light would appear to be at rest. Einstein realized that no matter what speed the observer is moving at, he must always observe the same velocity of light, which is roughly 186,000 miles per second (299,274 kilometers per second).

He also saw that this was in agreement with a second assumption: if an observer at rest and an observer moving at constant speed carry out the same kind of experiment, they must get the same result. These two assumptions make up Einstein's special theory of relativity. Also in 1905 Einstein proved that his theory predicted that energy (E) and mass (m) are entirely related according to his famous equation, E=mc 2 . This means that the energy in any particle is equal to the particle's mass multiplied by the speed of light squared. Academic career These papers made Einstein famous, and universities soon began competing for his services. In 1909, after serving as a lecturer at the University of Bern, Einstein was called as an associate professor to the University of Zurich. Two years later he was appointed a full professor at the German University in Prague, Czechoslovakia. Within another year-and-a-half Einstein became a full professor at the FIT.

Finally, in 1913 the well-known scientists Max Planck (1858–1947) and Walther Nernst (1864–1941) traveled to Zurich to persuade Einstein to accept a lucrative (profitable) research professorship at the University of Berlin in Germany, as well as full membership in the Prussian Academy of Science. He accepted their offer in 1914, saying, "The Germans are gambling on me as they would on a prize hen. I do not really know myself whether I shall ever really lay another egg." When he went to Berlin, his wife remained behind in Zurich with their two sons; they divorced, and Einstein married his cousin Elsa in 1917. In 1920 Einstein was appointed to a lifelong honorary visiting professorship at the University of Leiden in Holland. In 1921 and 1922 Einstein, accompanied by Chaim Weizmann (1874–1952), the future president of the state of Israel, traveled all over the world to win support for the cause of Zionism (the establishing of an independent Jewish state).

In Germany, where hatred of Jewish people was growing, the attacks on Einstein began. Philipp Lenard and Johannes Stark, both Nobel Prize–winning physicists, began referring to Einstein's theory of relativity as "Jewish physics." These kinds of attacks increased until Einstein resigned from the Prussian Academy of Science in 1933. Career in America On several occasions Einstein had visited the California Institute of Technology, and on his last trip to the United States he was offered a position in the newly established Institute for Advanced Studies in Princeton, Massachusetts. He went there in 1933. Einstein played a key role (1939) in the construction of the atomic bomb by signing a famous letter to President Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882–1945). It said that the Germans had made scientific advances and that it was possible that Adolf Hitler (1889–1945, the German leader whose actions led to World War II [1939–45]), might become the first to have atomic weapons. This led to an all-out U.S. effort to construct such a bomb.

Einstein was deeply shocked and saddened when his famous equation E=mc 2 was finally demonstrated in the most awesome and terrifying way by using the bomb to destroy Hiroshima, Japan, in 1945. For a long time he could only utter "Horrible, horrible." It would be difficult to find a more suitable epitaph (a brief statement summing up a person's person's life) than the words Einstein himself used in describing his life: "God …gave me the stubbornness of a mule and nothing else; really …He also gave me a keen scent." On April 18, 1955, Einstein died in Princeton. For More Information BBC - iWonder - Albert Einstein: A life spent re-imagining physics Albert Einstein: A life spent re-imagining physics 18 March 1879 2016Einstein remains a cult figure A visionary thinker and cultural icon Einstein's archetypal boffin persona, firmly lodged in popular culture, is well-earned. His ideas and theories were so shockingly revolutionary, he changed the way the Universe was imagined, not just once, but several times.

Albert Einstein was proclaimed a genius while still in his 20s. But his later work was dominated by a fruitless search for a unified theory and increasing isolation from mainstream physics. So why are we still obsessed with him? 18 March 1879 A free spirit is born GETTY The earliest known photograph of Albert Einstein. Almost from birth, Einstein’s enquiring mind was developed by parents who encouraged his independence. Aged just four, they sent him out to explore the local area on his own. Aged five, his father gave him a compass to play with. He was captivated by the motion of the needle. This was the genesis of his interest in science. Much later, his theories would be used to explain that motion. Unthinking respect for authority is the greatest enemy of truth Einstein writing in a letter in 1901 1894 What if I could ride on a beam of light? The young Albert already had the ability to think in pictures 1896 Adult life starts in chaos GETTY Einstein’s first marriage in 1903 was an act of rebellion. Neither set of parents approved. The couple divorced in 1919.

After failing the entrance exam for a Zurich technical college, Einstein studied a new syllabus at school, and entered college on his second attempt. Once there, he gained a reputation for missing classes and wasting time discussing science with friends in local cafes. At 17, he renounced his German citizenship in order to avoid military service. For the next four years, Einstein was not the citizen of any country. An academic career was put on hold after graduating with average marks, and finding his girlfriend and fellow student Mileva Marić had fallen pregnant. 1902 An office job with space to think GETTY "The origin of all technical achievements is the divine curiosity and the play instinct." After two years spent trying and failing to secure an academic position, a friend helped Einstein take a job at a patent office in Bern. Finding the work both easy and routine, Einstein quickly rose up the ranks. He later joked about it being his “cobbler’s trade” which left him plenty of time to think about physics. 1905 Miraculous ideas from 'nowhere' You need to have JavaScript enabled to view this clip. Brian Cox demonstrates time dilation, which is predicted by special relativity.

The Science of Doctor Who (BBC Two, 2013). Between March and June, he produced four revolutionary contributions to science. These included a paper entitled “on the electrodynamics of moving bodies”, which would become known as Einstein’s Special Theory of Relativity. This showed that measurements of space and time were relative to motion and subsequently forced physicists to re-evaluate some of their most basic concepts. Einstein would later be awarded the Nobel Prize for one of the other papers, where he explained photoelectric effect. 1909 The young genius enters academia GETTY Einstein as a young professor in Zurich. It was not until 1909 that Einstein was finally offered an academic post – as a professor at the University of Zurich. The appointment came two years after Einstein imagined his most significant thought experiment. Picturing a man falling off a roof, Einstein realised he would not feel his own weight. He called this the “happiest thought of my life” because it lead him to the general theory of relativity. Einstein also began demonstrating an interest in politics and moral questions, refusing to sign a “manifesto to the civilized world” defending Germany’s empire building at the start of World War One.

Peace cannot be achieved through violence Einstein was a lifelong pacifist 25 November 1915 Turning physics on its head You need to have JavaScript enabled to view this clip. Watch Brian Cox demonstrate general relativity. Wonders of the Universe (BBC Two, 2011). In 1915, Einstein announced his general theory of relativity, the culmination of an eight-year obsession with gravity. With its astonishing implications about the nature of time and space, it displaced Newtonian mechanics and shook the physics world, suggesting that space and time were one and the same and that gravity was not a force as Newton described it but the effect of objects bending space-time. His theory was given the weight of observational evidence when it was used to correctly predict anomalies in the orbit of Mercury – a centuries-old problem that Newton’s theory of gravitation could not resolve. General relativity is confirmed – Einstein becomes a global icon GETTY Arthur Eddington's photograph of the solar eclipse which proved the general theory of relativity. In 1919 the British physicist Arthur Eddington went to a small African island to observe the total eclipse of the Sun. He wanted to put Einstein’s theory to the test.

Einstein had predicted that gravity should bend light. The eclipse of 1919 provided the perfect opportunity. As the negatives were measured it became clear. Light was bent. Einstein was right. Our view of the Universe was changed forever. Just as important were the political implications. In the charged environment of a world returning from war, a British confirmation of a German pacifist Jew's theory had a powerful resonance. April 1921 America falls in love with Einstein SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY Einstein in 1921 with his second wife Elsa. His image became popular with the American press corps. In 1921 Einstein went to New York for the first time. His distinctive appearance and surprising demeanour saw him capture the attention of the press pack. To Americans, he came across not as an aloof intellectual with strange ideas about the nature of reality but as a warm, likeable and humble character, who often smiled and had a talent for providing journalists with quotable lines. The feeling was mutual; in an essay about his impressions of the country he wrote "The American is friendly, self-confident, optimistic, and without envy".

Two things are infinite: the Universe and human stupidity Einstein had a gift for quotable lines 9 November 1922 Einstein wins the Nobel Prize Einstein's Nobel prize medal, showing Alfred Nobel's likeness. Image: (C) (R) The Nobel Foundation. Photographer: Lovisa Engblom. In 1922 Einstein was awarded the 1921 Nobel Prize in physics for his work on the photoelectric effect. This was largely because his better known work on relativity had remained controversial with some influential figures, including ophthalmologist Allvar Gullstrand, who served on the Nobel committee. 1924 Lesser but brilliant work continues You need to have JavaScript enabled to view this clip. Ben Miller discovers the surprising behaviour of low-temperature helium. Horizon: What is One Degree? (BBC Two, 2011). In the years that followed Einstein never equalled the scientific successes of his early years. But he did continue to make substantial contributions to physics. For example, his work with Indian physicist Satyendra Nath Bose predicted the existence of a new state of matter – a Bose-Einstein condensate.

It also described strange quantum phenomena such as the behaviour of superfluids – a state of matter that behaves like a fluid, but has zero viscosity. 19 October 1927 The battle with quantum physics GETTY The 1927 Solvay conference. Over the following years Einstein would become an increasingly isolated figure in physics. Quantum physics was on an unstoppable rise – making sense of sub-atomic behaviour in a way that general relativity could not. Einstein disliked the uncertainty of quantum mechanics and sought a more complete theory. At the 1927 Solvay conference in Brussels, Einstein came into disagreement with the leader of the quantum group, Niels Bohr. Their rivalry clarified the nature of wave-particle duality. Einstein spent most of the rest of his life trying to formulate a single theory which would unite relativity with quantum mechanics. It is a fundamental problem that eludes physicists to this day. God does not play dice Einstein continually rejected the implications of quantum physics October 1933 A permanent move to Princeton GETTY Einstein with Charlie Chaplin.

“They’re cheering us both – you because nobody understands you and me because everybody understand me.” Einstein moved to the USA in 1933 and took up a post in Princeton at the Institute for Advanced Study, a move precipitated by Hitler’s rise to power. At Princeton he published dozens of scientific papers, mainly related to some aspect of general relativity. But he remained consumed by the struggle to unite relativity and quantum physics. At various times he believed he had done it but would quickly fall into disillusionment as he realised problems remained. 2 August 1939 Increasing political activity You need to have JavaScript enabled to view this clip. In a rare clip, Einstein expresses his regret over his role in the development of atomic weapons. Secrets of the Universe (BBC Four, 2014). In 1939 Einstein wrote to US President Roosevelt urging the development of atomic weapons. He felt an increasing sense of duty for physics to contribute in the fight against fascism but came to regret his role in the development of the atomic bomb. In later years, Einstein spoke out on social issues, joined civil rights organisations, promoted socialism and defended the character of friends who were labelled Communists.

All of these activities would strike many in McCarthy-era America as deeply suspicious. The FBI opened a file on Einstein, which grew to nearly 1,500 pages. Dr. Albert Einstein Dies in Sleep at 76; World Mourns Loss of Great Scientist Dr. Albert Einstein Dies in Sleep at 76; World Mourns Loss of Great Scientist By THE NEW YORK TIMES Albert Einstein was born at Ulm, Wuerttemberg, Germany, on March 14, 1879. His boyhood was spent in Munich, where his father, who owned electro-technical works, had settled. The family migrated to Italy in 1894, and Albert was sent to a cantonal school at Aarau in Switzerland. He attended lectures while supporting himself by teaching mathematics and physics at the Polytechnic School at Zurich until 1900. Finally, after a year as tutor at Schaffthausen, he was appointed examiner of patents at the Patent Office at Bern where, having become a Swiss citizen, he remained until 1909. It was in this period that he obtained his Ph.D. degree at the University of Zurich and published his first papers on physical subjects.

These were so highly esteemed that in 1909 he was appointed Extraordinary Professor of Theoretical Physics at the University of Zurich. In 1911 he accepted the Chair of Physics at Prague, only to be induced to return to his own Polytechnic School at Zurich as full professor the next year. In 1913 a special position was created for him in Berlin as director of the Kaiser Wilhelm Physical Institute. He was elected a member of the Royal Prussian Academy of Sciences and received a stipend sufficient to enable him to devote all his time to research without any restrictions or routine duties. Elected to Royal Society He was elected a foreign member of the Royal Society in 1921, having also been made previously a member of the Amsterdam and Copenhagen Academies, while the Universities of Geneva, Manchester, Rostock and Princeton conferred honorary degrees on him. In 1925 he received the Copley Medal of the Royal Society and in 1926 the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society in recognition of his theory of relativity. He received a Nobel Price in 1921. Honors continued to be conferred on him.

He was made a member of the Institute de France, one of the few foreigners ever to achieve such a distinction. Other great universities throughout the world, including Oxford, Cambridge, Paris, Madrid, Buenos Aires, Zurich, Yeshiva, Harvard, London and Brussels, awarded honorary doctorates to him. One of the highest American scientific honors, the Franklin Institute Medal, came to him in 1935, when he startled the scientific world by failing to deliver more than a mere "thank-you" in lieu of the scientific address customary on such occasions. He made up for it later by contributing an important paper to the Journal of the Franklin Institute dealing with ideas, he explained, that were not quite ripe at the time he received the medal. Dr. Einstein married Mileva Marec, a fellow-student in Switzerland, in 1901. They had two sons, Albert Einstein Jr., an electrical engineer who also came to this country, and Eduard. The marriage ended in divorce. He married again, in 1917, this time his cousin, Elsa Einstein, a widow with two daughters. She died in Princeton in 1936.

To Institute at Princeton in '32 When the Institute for Advanced Study was organized in 1932 Dr. Einstein was offered and accepted, the place of Professor of Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, and served, also, as the Head of the Mathematics Department. The institute was situated at Princeton, N.J., and Dr. Einstein made plans to live there about half of each year. These plans were changed suddenly. Adolf Hitler rose to power in Germany and essential human liberty, even for Jews with world reputations like Dr. Einstein, became impossible in Germany. He announced that he would not return to Berlin, sailed for Europe and went to Belgium. Immediately many nations invited him to make his home in their lands. In the late spring of 1933 Dr. Einstein learned, in Belgium, that his two step-daughters had been forced to flee Germany. Not long after that he was notified through the press that he had been ousted from the supervising board of the German Bureau of Standards. His home at Caputh was sacked by Hitler Brown Shirts on the allegation that the world-renowned physicist and pacifist had a vast store of arms hidden there.

The Prussian Academy of Science expelled him and also attacked him for having made statements regarding Hitler atrocities. His reply was this: "I do not want to remain in a state where individuals are not conceded equal rights before the law for freedom of speech and doctrine." In September of 1933 he fled from Belgium and went into seclusion on the coast of England, fearful that the Nazis had plans upon his life. Then he journeyed to Princeton and made his home there. He bought a home in Princeton and settled down to pass his remaining years there. In 1940 he became a citizen of the United States. Einstein Noted as an Iconoclast In Research, Politics and Religion His Early Spare-Time Reflections in Bern Led to Strong Belief in Social Equality and Hope for a World Government In 1904, Albert Einstein, then an obscure young man of 25, could be seen daily in the late afternoon wheeling a baby carriage on the streets of Bern, Switzerland, halting now and then, unmindful of the traffic around him, to scribble down some mathematical symbols in a notebook that shared the carriage with his infant son, also named Albert.

Out of those symbols came the most explosive ideas in the age-old strivings of man to fathom the mystery of his universe. Out of them, incidentally, came the atomic bomb, which, viewed from the long-range perspective of mankind's intellectual and spiritual history may turn out, Einstein fervently hoped, to have been just a minor by-product. With those symbols Dr. Einstein was building his theory of relativity. In that baby carriage with his infant son was Dr. Einstein's universe-in-the-making, a vast, finite-infinite four-dimensional universe, in which the conventional universe--existing in absolute three-dimensional space and in absolute three-dimensional time of past, present and future--vanished into a mere subjective shadow. Dr. Einstein was then building his universe in his spare time, on the completion of his day's routine work as a humble, $600-a-year examiner in the Government Patent Office in Bern. Published Four Papers A few months later, in 1905, the entries in the notebook were published in four epoch-making scientific papers. In the first he described a method for determining molecular dimensions.

In the second he explained the photo-electric effect, the basis of electronics, for which he won the Nobel Prize in 1921. In the third, he presented a molecular kinetic theory of heat. The fourth and last paper that year, entitled "Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies," a short article of thirty-one pages, was the first presentation of what became known as the Special Relativity Theory. Three of the papers were published, one at a time, in Volume 17 of the German scientific journal, Annalen der Physik, leading journal of physics in the world at the time. The fourth was printed in Volume 18. Neither Dr. Einstein, nor the world he lived in, nor man's concept of his material universe, were ever the same again. Many other scientific papers, of startling originality and intellectual boldness, were published by Dr. Einstein in the succeeding years. The scientific fraternity in the world of physics, particularly the leaders of the group, recognized from the beginning that a new star of the first magnitude had appeared on their firmament.

But with the passing of time his fame spread to other circles, and by 1920 the name of Einstein had become synonymous with relativity, a theory universally regarded as so profound that only twelve men in the entire world were believed able to fathom its depths. Legend Grew With Years Paradoxically, as the years passed, the figure of Einstein the man became more and more remote, while that of Einstein the legend came ever nearer to the masses of mankind. They grew to know him not as a universe-maker whose theories they could not hope to understand but as a world citizen, one of the outstanding spiritual leaders of his generation, a symbol of the human spirit and its highest aspirations. "The world around Einstein has changed very much since he published his first discoveries * * * but his attitude to the world around him has not changed," wrote Dr. Phillipp Frank, Dr. Einstein's biographer, in 1947. "He has remained an individualist who prefers to be unencumbered by social relations, and at the same time a fighter for social equality and human fraternity. "Many famous scholars live in the distinguished university town," (Princeton) Dr.

Frank continues, "but no inhabitant will simply number Einstein as one among many other famous people. For the people of Princeton in particular and for the world at large he is not just a great scholar, but rather one of the legendary figures of the twentieth century. Einstein's acts and words are not simply noted and judged as facts; instead each has its symbolic significance * * *" "Saintly," "noble" and "lovable" were the words used to describe him by those who knew him even casually. He radiated humor, warmth and kindliness. He loved jokes and laughed easily. Princeton residents would see him walk in their midst, a familiar figure, yet a stranger, a close neighbor, yet at the same time a visitor from another world. And as he grew older his otherworldiness became more pronounced, yet his human warmth did not diminish. Outward appearance meant nothing to him. Princetonians, old and young, soon got used to the long-haired figure in pullover sweater and unpressed slacks wandering in their midst, a knitted stocking cap covering his head in winter.

"My passionate interest in social justice and social responsibility," he wrote, "has always stood in curious contrast to a marked lack of desire for direct association with men and women. I am a horse for single harness, not cut out for tandem or team work. I have never belonged wholeheartedly to country or state, to my circle of friends, or even to my own family. These ties have always been accompanied by a vague aloofness, and the wish to withdraw into myself increases with the years. "Such isolation is sometimes bitter, but I do not regret being cut off from the understanding and sympathy of other men. I lose something by it, to be sure, but I am compensated for it in being rendered independent of the customs, opinions and prejudices of others, and am not tempted to rest my peace of mind upon such shiftless foundations." Center of Controversies It was this independence that made Dr. Einstein on occasions the center of controversy, as the result of his championship of some highly unpopular causes. He declared himself a stanch pacifist in Germany during World War I and brought down upon his head a storm of violent criticism from all sides.

When outstanding representatives of German art and science signed, following the German invasion of Belgium in violation of treaty, the "Manifesto of Ninety-two German Intellectuals," asserting that "German culture and German militarism are identical," Dr. Einstein refused to sign and again faced ostracism and the wrath of the multitudes. But he never wavered when his conscience dictated that he take a course of action, no matter how unpopular. One of these occasions came on Jan. 12, 1953, when he wrote to President Harry S. Truman: "My conscience compels me to urge you to commute the death sentence of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg," the two convicted atomic spies who were executed five months later.

In June, 1953, he wrote a letter to a school teacher in which he characterized certain tactics of a Congressional investigating committee as "a kind of inquisition" that "violates the spirit of the Constitution," and advised the "minority of intellectuals" to refuse to testify on the ground that "it is shameful for a blameless citizen to submit to such an inquisition." Faced with this evil, he said, he could "see only the revolutionary way of non-cooperation in the sense of Gandhi's." Later that year Dr. Einstein advised a witness not to answer any questions by Senator Joseph R. McCarthy, Republican of Wisconsin, relating to personal beliefs, politics, associations with other people, reading, thinking and writing, as a violation of the First Amendment, which provides constitutional guarantees of free speech and associations. The witness, in refusing to cooperate with the subcommittee then headed by Senator McCarthy, said he was doing so on the advice of Dr. Einstein, who confirmed the witness's statement. "He was a severe critic of modern methods of education. "It is nothing short of a miracle," he said, "that modern methods of instruction have not yet entirely strangled the holy curiosity of inquiry.

For this delicate little plant, aside from stimulation, stands mainly in need of freedom." His political ideal, he emphasized frequently, was democracy. The distinctions separating the social classes, he wrote, "are false. In the last analysis they rest on force. I am convinced that degeneracy follows every autocratic system of violence, for violence inevitably attracts moral inferiors * * *. For this reason I have always been passionately opposed to such regimes as exist in Russia and Italy today." This was written in 1931, two years before Hitler came to power. Dr. Einstein believed that a socialist planned economy was the only way to eliminate the inequalities of capitalism. However, he fully recognized that "planned economy as such may be accompanied by the complete enslavement of the individual." His love for the oppressed also led him to become a strong supporter of Zionism. In November, 1952, following the death of Chaim Weizmann, Dr. Einstein was asked if he would accept the Presidency of Israel. He replied that he was deeply touched by the offer but that he was not suited for the position.

He never undertook functions he could not fulfill to his satisfaction, he said, and he felt he was not qualified in the area of human relationships. Chairman of Atomic Unit On Aug. 6, 1945, when the world was electrified with the news that an atomic bomb had exploded over Japan, the significance of relativity was intuitively grasped by the millions. From then on the destiny of mankind hung on a thin mathematical thread. Dr. Einstein devoted much of his time and energy in an attempt to arouse the world's consciousness to its dangers. He became the chairman of the Emergency Committee of Atomic Scientists, organized to make the American people aware of the potential horrors of atomic warfare and the necessity for the international control of atomic energy. He believed that real peace could be achieved only by total disarmament and the establishment of a "restricted world government," a "supranational judicial and executive body empowered to decide questions of immediate concern to the security of the nations." "The hydrogen bomb," he said in 1950, "appears on the public horizon as a probably attainable goal.

* * * If successful, radioactive poisoning of the atmosphere, and hence annihilation of any life on earth, has been brought within the range of technical possibilities." He found recreation from his labors in playing the grand piano that stood in the solitary den in the garret of his residence. Much of his leisure time, too, was spent in playing the violin. He was especially fond of playing trios and quartets with musical friends. "In my life," he said once, explaining his great love for music, "the artistically visionary plays no mean role. After all, the work of a research scientist germinates upon the soil of imagination, of vision. Just as an artist arrives at his conceptions partly by intuition, so a scientist must also have a certain amount of intuition." While he did not believe in a formal, dogmatic religion, Dr. Einstein, like all true mystics, was of a deeply religious nature. He referred to it as the cosmic religion, which he defined as a seeking on the part of the individual who feels it "to experience the totality of existence as a unity full of significance." "I assert," he wrote for The New York Times on Nov.

9, 1930, "that the cosmic religious experience is the strongest and the noblest driving force behind scientific research. No one who does not appreciate the terrific exertions and, above all, the devotion without which pioneer creation in scientific thought cannot come into being can judge the strength of the feeling out of which alone such work turned away as it is from immediate, practical life, can grow." "The most beautiful and profound emotion we can experience," he wrote "is the mystical. It is the source of all true art and science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: his eyes are closed. This insight into the mystery of life, coupled though it be with fear, also has given rise to religion. To know that what is impenetrable to us really exists, manifesting itself as the highest wisdom and the most radiant beauty which our dull faculties can comprehend only in their primitive forms--this knowledge, this feeling, is at the center of true religiousness. In this sense, and in this sense only, I belong in the ranks of devoutly religious men.

"I cannot imagine a God who rewards and punishes the objects of his creation, whose purposes are modeled after our own--a God, in short, who is but a reflection of human fraility. Neither can I believe that the individual survives the death of his body, although feeble souls harbor such thoughts through fear or ridiculous egotism. It is enough for me to contemplate the mystery of conscious life perpetuating itself through all eternity, to reflect upon the marvelous structure of the universe which we can dimly perceive, and to try humbly to comprehend even an infinitesimal part of the intelligence manifested in nature. "My religion consists of a humble admiration of the illimitable superior spirit who reveals himself in the slight details we are able to perceive with our frail and feeble minds. That deeply emotional conviction of the presence of a superior reasoning power, which is revealed in the incomprehensible universe, forms my idea of God." "The most incomprehensible thing about the world," he said on another occasion, "is that it is comprehensible."

Question: Scientist Albert Einstein was born in which country?
Answer: Germany