Albert Einstein

Term Paper

"Albert Einstein"

By

xxx

Submitted in Fulfillment of the Requirements of

PHYS 102, Explorations in Physics

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University

Andrews AFB, MD

(September, 2006)

"Albert Einstein"

Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler. Imagination is more important than knowledge (Albert Einstein).

Introduction

Albert Einstein is known as one of the greatest physicists of all time. This article was written to commemorate Albert Einstein's work, published in 1905. These articles today are still hallowed today as some of the most prolific scientific findings of all time. In this paper I will examine the writings of Einstein. The three papers published in 1905 examined, first, quantum mechanics, second, time and mass as a function of velocity of the frame of reference, and third, Brownian movement. This article also describes Einstein's knowledge regarding field theory and some conflicting opinions with Faraday as to the nature of the field (fields that surround various objects).

Quantum Mechanics

The first paper published in 1905 by Einstein was, "On a Heuristic Point of View about the Creation on Conservation on Light, Annalen der Physik, Vol. 17", which involved Max Planck's theory behind quantum mechanics which is, that "electromagnetic energy is emitted from radiating objects in quantities (portions) which are discrete" and that the "energy of these emitted quantities, light-quanta, was directly proportional to the frequency of the radiation." (Lopez-Fernandez, 2005) Electromagnetic theory states that electromagnetic energy, in forms of waves, runs in a hypothetical ether or space, and that the waves could transfer any amount of energy no matter how small that amount is. Einstein used Planck's work to describe the characteristics of electromagnetic radiation. Einstein formed a viewpoint that "light could be imagined to consist of discrete bundles of radiation." (Einstein, 1905) Einstein also used this finding to explain the "photoelectric effect, by which certain metals emit electrons when illuminated by light with a given frequency." (Einstein, 1905) It was this paper that contained many developments and theory to form the basis of a large portion of quantum mechanics.

Time and Mass

The second major paper released the year of 1905 was "The Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies, and Special Relativity, Vol. 17" which described what is known today as the "special theory of relativity." At the time this paper was written Einstein knew that, according to Lorentz's theory of electrons, "the mass of an electron increases as the velocity of the electron approaches the speed of light." (Einstein, 1905) Einstein, in this paper also attempted to test Maxwell's theory of electrons which assumed that there was a presence of luminiferous ether, which Einstein was not able to find. Luminiferous ether was thought be the substance that filled the whole universe and was a stationary frame of reference, which was rigid to electromagnetic waves but completely permeable to matter. Einstein first concluded that the equations that described the motion of an electron could also describe the "non-accelerated motion of any particle" and also "any suitable defined rigid body." (Einstein, 1905) The second conclusion or assumption that Einstein documented in this paper was that, "the speed of light remained constant in all frames of reference" which was required by "classical Maxwellian theory." (Lopez-Fernandez, 2005) Einstein in this paper also describes the phenomenon of time dilation, "wherein time, analogous to length and mass, is a function of the velocity of a frame of reference." (Einstein, 1905) This article goes on to say that Einstein was not the first person to propose all the elements that are described in the "special theory of relativity" but his contribution to the field of physics was that he, [Einstein] explained how the elements worked together. (Lopez-Fernandez, 2005)

Brownian Movement

The third paper released in 1905 by Einstein, "Investigation on the Theory of Brownian Movement, Vol. 17" described statistical mechanics, as well as itemized the works previously done by Boltzmann and Gibbs. However, when Einstein published this paper he did not have any knowledge of Gibbs work, so all the findings and further research into Brownian movement was derived from work previously accomplished by Boltzmann. Einstein concluded that the "average trajectory of a microscopic particle buffeted by random collisions with molecules in a fluid is the same as the molecules in a gas." (Einstein, 1905) At the time these papers were published the existence of atoms was still a large part of theoretical speculation but in this paper Einstein produced convincing evidence that atoms existed physically.

Field Theory

Field theory according