Why Einstein was given the Nobel Prize. Einstein Nobel Prize

How the great physicist actually studied, why he refused to work at the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences, why they did not want to give Einstein the Nobel Prize and how he served science after his death, Indicator.Ru tells in the section “How to get a Nobel Prize.”

Albert Einstein

Died: April 18, 1955, Princeton, New Jersey, USA Nobel Prize in Physics 1921. Wording of the Nobel Committee: "For services to theoretical physics and especially for the discovery of the law of the photoelectric effect."

While working on the column “How to get a Nobel Prize,” the author has already encountered a hero about whom no matter how much you write, it will not be enough: even in the 10-15 thousand characters allotted for the article, it will not be possible to fit even just summary what this man did in physics. But if this can be said about Max Planck, then what can we say about our today’s hero? Only full list his works will take up the specified volume of text and will not say anything about him as a person and a scientist. But we will still try to tell you something, to find not the most known facts and dispel some myths.

The future “physical revolutionary” was born in southern Germany. His father, Hermann Einstein, owned a company that produced feather beds and mattresses, or rather, feather and down stuffing for them. Mom, Paulina Einstein, née Koch, also came from a wealthy family - her father, Einstein's grandfather Julius Derzbacher, was a famous corn trader.

Einstein began studying at the Ulm Catholic school and, as he later said, until the age of 12 he was a deeply devout child. True, this did not stop him from being interested in the Critique of Pure Reason and playing the violin like a decent Jewish boy.

The family then moved to Munich, then to Pavia, and then finally, in 1895, to Switzerland. An incident happened here: Einstein was going to take the entrance exams to the Zurich Polytechnic, and then, having studied, teach physics. A modest, quiet career... But he did not pass the exams. However, the director of the Polytechnic advised Einstein to simply study for a year at a local school, receive a certificate of the “established standard”, and then go to his school with a light heart. educational institution. That's what Einstein did. After which I entered.

By the way, since we are talking about the studies and certificate of the future genius, we need to immediately dispel one common myth. From year to year, from decade to decade, the same story is repeated: Einstein studied very poorly at school, was a dumbass, received only twos and threes. This myth is especially popular among sellers of programs “how to make a genius out of your child in two weeks.”

Nevertheless, it is stupid to talk about Einstein’s failure, although it is clear where this myth comes from. Take a look at the certificate that Albert received upon graduating from school in Aarau, Switzerland. This is where the confusion lies.

The fact is that Einstein began his studies in Germany and graduated in Switzerland. But German children at that time were rated on a ten-point scale, and Swiss children on a six-point scale. So one can understand that Einstein was almost an excellent student, but if he had received such a certificate in Germany, then he highest score in physics and mathematics (6) would turn into a three in our understanding, and a four in geography would turn into a “banana”. Not what you should expect from a schoolboy who is really all free time studies Maxwell's electromagnetic theory.

So, in 1900 the Polytechnic graduated. They say that the professors did not like Einstein for his independence (in fact, Einstein himself said this), and until 1902 he could not find any work at all, let alone a scientific one. “He lived from hand to mouth” for the future great physicist was not a metaphor, but the harsh truth of life, which damaged his liver.

However, there are forces on physics. Already in 1901, the Annalen der Physik published the article “Consequences of the Theory of Capillarity,” Einstein’s first paper, in which he calculated the forces of attraction between the atoms of liquids.

His father could not help him with money - his enterprise went bankrupt, a new venture with a company selling electrical equipment did not take off, and in 1902 Hermann Einstein died. Albert barely had time to arrive to say goodbye to his father.

But a classmate, Marcel Grossman, helped, who in the same 1902 recommended his friend for the position of third class expert at the Swiss Federal Patent Office. The salary is small, but you can live, and the work is dust-free, leaving time for doing science. In 1904, Annalen der Physik proposed cooperation - for this journal Einstein made annotations of new papers on thermodynamics. Apparently, therefore, when the almost real happened scientific miracle, the world learned about him precisely from the pages of this publication.

In 1905, an almost unknown physicist published three articles in the Annalen der Physik. Zur Elektrodynamik bewegter Körper (“Towards the electrodynamics of moving bodies”), Über einen die Erzeugung und Verwandlung des Lichts betreffenden heuristischen Gesichtspunkt (On a heuristic point of view concerning the origin and transformation of light) and Über die von der molekularkinetischen Theorie der Wärme geforderte Be wegung von in Ruhenden Flüssigkeiten suspendierten Teilchen (On the motion of particles suspended in a fluid at rest, required by the molecular kinetic theory of heat).

The first begins the theory of relativity (still special), the second lays the foundation of quantum theory (and then Einstein will still convince Max Planck himself of the reality of the existence of quanta), the third, in general, is dedicated to Brownian motion, but at the same time it also thoroughly shakes up the whole building statistical physics.

Three powerful blows kicked open the door to new physics and, in fact, to a new consciousness. No wonder the year 1905 went down in the history of science as Annus Mirabilis - “Year of Miracles.” Only after these works Einstein was able to obtain a doctorate in physics. However, right up to 1909 he served in the Patent Office, despite the fact that already in 1906 physicists around the world addressed him in letters as “Herr Professor.”

Einstein gradually gained worldwide fame, especially since experimental confirmation of his theoretical research gradually came. In 1914, he was even invited to work in St. Petersburg, at the Academy of Sciences, but after the sensational Beilis case and the Jewish pogroms, Einstein refused precisely for ideological reasons. Moreover, the physicist, unlike many of our previous heroes, actively opposed the First World War. Maybe this was due to his Swiss citizenship, which he had had since 1901, or maybe it was just his character.

However, it was during the First World War, namely in 1915, that another “miracle” of Einstein appeared - the General Theory of Relativity, which finally connected the nature of space and time and assigned the role of the material carrier of gravity to this union. Now, a hundred years later, without the general theory of relativity there is nowhere even in practice: for example, without corrections for the effects of general relativity, GPS devices will not work accurately.

The first time Einstein was nominated for a Nobel in physics was back in 1910, for his special theory of relativity. And every year the number of nominations grew and grew until it led to a natural ending.

Went with a Nobel Prize too interesting story. We need to start with the fact that in 1911, the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, after several unsuccessful nominations in physics, was awarded to the Swedish optics specialist Alvar Gullstrand. He was indeed a very good optician and specialist in eye dioptrics, and after the award he became a very respected scientist in Sweden. And a member Nobel Committee.

This wonderful man turned out to be a very stubborn, although very friendly person “for his own people.” But if anyone was a “stranger” for Gullstrand... The stern Swedish genius could not stand and did not recognize the new physics and, in particular, Albert Einstein. “Thanks to” Gullstrand, 1921 was the year in which no prize in physics was awarded at all. No, not because they didn’t find a worthy candidate, but because Albert Einstein received so many nominations. Gulstrand threw a fit. He is said to have even yelled, “Einstein should never win the Nobel Prize, even if the rest of the world demands it.” And he convinced the committee not to award the prize to Einstein. Well, not Einstein - so no one.

To be precise, in 1922 two laureates were named, both for 1921 (after all, Einstein, although the great physicist received many nominations already in 1922), and for 1922. And, knowing in advance what would happen, many physicists already began to fear for their reputation. One of Einstein's nominations, from Karl Wilhelm Oseen, saved the matter. Oseen nominated the greatest physicist not for the theory of relativity, like everyone else, but for the discovery of the law of the photoelectric effect. Everyone clung to this “loophole” and, adding to the verdict the phrase “for outstanding achievements in theoretical physics” (read “he’s also a great guy”), they finally pushed through the stubborn Swede.

By the way, Einstein himself exercised his right to nominate Nobel laureates only nine times. He proposed that the prize be awarded to Max Planck (even before he himself became a laureate), James Frank and Gustav Hertz, Arthur Compton, Werner Heisenberg and Arthur Schrödinger, Otto Stern, Isidor Rabi, Wolfgang Pauli, Walter Bethe and Carl Bosch (the latter chemistry). A unique story: all Einstein nominees received their awards.

The remaining third of a century of Einstein's life was rich in both scientific and social activities until death. And the gradually unfolding persecution in Germany, the forced move to the USA, work on general field theory, a letter to Franklin Delano Roosevelt about the need to actively create atomic weapons - and immediately, after the war, active participation in the founding of the Pugwash movement of scientists for peace, and even refusing the post of President of Israel. A separate book could be written about each of these 33 years.

In 1955, things got much worse for the old physicist. He put aside all his affairs, wrote a will and began work on a proclamation that called on all countries to prevent nuclear war. Einstein said to his friends: “I have completed my task on Earth.” He did not have time to finish the appeal. Stepdaughter Margot, who visited him in the hospital shortly before his death, recalled: “He spoke with deep calm, even with slight humor about doctors, and waited for his death as an upcoming “natural phenomenon.” As fearless as he was during life, he met death so calmly and peacefully. Without any sentimentality and without regrets, he left this world."

In this “amateur” photograph we can see the brain of a great scientist. Shortly after Albert Einstein's death, he was photographed by pathologist Thomas Harvey, who performed the autopsy. The images were taken before the brain was placed in formaldehyde, before 240 histological sections were taken from it.

However, these images, stored in the National Museum of Medicine and Health (NMHM), until relatively recently did not attract the attention of scientists, like the drugs themselves. Einstein's brain remained without research: it was only clear that in general it turned out to be slightly smaller than the average human brain (but within normal limits). However, in 1985, the first study of the slices had already shown that all areas of the brain from which samples were taken contained unusual a large number of glial cells.

And in 2013, an article was published in the journal Brain, which analyzes the images discovered shortly before. Its main conclusion is the unusually highly developed prefrontal and parietal cortex of the great scientist’s brain. This probably explains his amazing thinking abilities, the mathematical and spatial apparatus of his consciousness. This is how Albert Einstein helps “advance” science sixty years after his death.

Albert Einstein was nominated several times for the Nobel Prize in Physics, but members of the Nobel Committee for a long time they did not dare to award a prize to the author of such a revolutionary theory as the theory of relativity. In the end, a diplomatic solution was found: the 1921 prize was awarded to Einstein for the theory of the photoelectric effect, that is, for the most indisputable and experimentally tested work; however, the text of the decision contained a neutral addition: "and for other work in the field of theoretical physics".

“As I have already informed you by telegram, the Royal Academy of Sciences, at its meeting yesterday, decided to award you the Prize in Physics for the past year (1921), thereby noting your work in theoretical physics, in particular the discovery of the law of the photoelectric effect, without taking into account your works on the theory of relativity and the theory of gravity, which will be evaluated after their confirmation in the future.”

Naturally, Einstein dedicated his traditional Nobel speech to the theory of relativity.
In September 1905, Albert Einstein published famous work“Towards the electrodynamics of moving media”, dedicated to the theory describing motion, the laws of mechanics and space-time relations at speeds close to the speed of light. This theory was later called special theory relativity.

Many scientists considered the “new physics” too revolutionary. She abolished the ether, absolute space and absolute time, and revised Newtonian mechanics, which had served as the basis of physics for 200 years. Time in the theory of relativity flows differently in different systems reference, inertia and length depend on speed, movement faster than light is impossible - all these unusual consequences were unacceptable to the conservative part of the scientific community.

Einstein himself treated his colleagues’ mistrust with humor; his statement at the French Philosophical Society at the Sorbonne on April 6, 1922 is known: “If the theory of relativity is confirmed, the Germans will say that I am a German, and the French will say that I am a citizen of the world; but if my theory is refuted, the French will declare me a German, and the Germans a Jew.”

In 1915, Einstein created a mathematical model of General Relativity that deals with the curvature of space and time.
The new theory predicted two previously unknown physical effects, fully confirmed by observations, and also accurately and completely explained the secular shift of Mercury's perihelion, which had long puzzled astronomers. After this, the theory of relativity became an almost universally accepted foundation of modern physics. Besides general theory relativity found practical use in GPS global positioning systems, where coordinate calculations are made with very significant relativistic corrections.

The thesis about the discreteness of electromagnetic radiation put forward by Einstein in 1905 allowed him to explain two mysteries of the photoelectric effect: why the photocurrent did not arise at any frequency of light, but only starting from a certain threshold, and the energy and speed of the emitted electrons depended not on the intensity of the light, but only on its frequencies. Einstein's theory of the photoelectric effect corresponded with experimental data with high accuracy, which was later confirmed by Millikan's experiments (1916). It is for these scientific discoveries Einstein received the Nobel Prize.

Everyone knows Albert Einstein - he's a curly-haired old man, showing tongue to the world.

But the scientist’s personality is shrouded in many mysteries and controversies. Is he a genius or a thief? What discovery made him famous, and for which he received the Nobel Prize? We'll figure out.

Einstein – C student?

Many careless schoolchildren often rely on the fact that even a famous physicist did poorly at school, justifying their laziness.

But this is only part of the truth. Einstein did not finish high school. He was not very interested in many subjects, so the teachers of the humanities were indifferent to the boy.

But boy was interested in mathematics and asked questions that went beyond school curriculum.

At the age of sixteen, the future physicist left for the city of Pavia near Milan, where his family lived. Also in 1895, he took the entrance exams to Technical High School Zurich, Switzerland.

But he was not accepted, but was advised to complete his senior year in order to receive a certificate. A year later, he passed almost all the entrance tests with flying colors and entered.

The thorny path to science

Studying at school was easier for Einstein. But many teachers did not like the future physicist for his independence and distrust of authorities, so they refused to support him in the scientific field.

The young man was starving because he could not get a job, but he continued to do research.

In 1901 his article was published in the German journal “Annals of Physics” "Consequences of the theory of capillarity", in which he discussed the nature of attraction between atoms of a liquid. The work was quite bold, since at that time even chemists denied the existence of atoms.

Only in 1902 Einstein got a job at Patent Office, he was helped by the recommendations of his former classmate and friend Marcel Grossman. The position not only provided him with sufficient means for subsistence, but also gave him the opportunity to continue his scientific work.

"Year of Miracles"

IN 1905 saw the light three significant works Einstein.

Theory of relativity

By the beginning of the twentieth century, serious contradictions had matured in physics. The properties of electromagnetic waves did not fit into Newton's classical mechanics. Back in the nineteenth century there was broadcast offered- some hypothetical the medium in which electromagnetic waves propagate.

But its existence has not been experimentally proven. On the contrary, in practice the very contradictory properties of this medium were discovered: the ether should be very elastic, but discharged. Many realized that a crisis was brewing in physics.

In 1905, the mathematician Poincaré derived equations that describe theory of relativity, and called them Lorentz transformations. But he also did not give up broadcasting.

And only Einstein dared to question its existence. The theory of relativity states that in time flows differently in different reference systems, and the speed of light is constant and maximum.

The theory turned classical physics upside down, because it led to conclusions that were completely inconsistent with the usual knowledge about the world. Despite the significance of this work, the physicist did not receive the Nobel Prize for it. This is due to the fact that for a long time there was no proof of Einstein's theory, and later problems with authorship arose due to a similar work by Poincaré.

Quantum theory

We are accustomed to the fact that heat moves from hotter bodies to colder ones. But why then does everyone warm bodies don't light up until they cool down? That's what it is " Ultraviolet disaster».

To solve this problem in 1900, Max Planck proposed that bodies emit heat in small amounts, quanta, which have different frequencies. But the physicist did not dare to develop his theory, considering it a mathematical necessity.

She explained why the speed of electrons escaping from the anode depends only on the frequency of light, and not on the intensity of the radiation. For this development in this area in 1922 scientist received Nobel Prize.

Brownian motion and the beginning of statistics

Biologist Robert Brown discovered that light pollen moves in water for no reason. In a 1905 paper, Einstein explained, based on molecular kinetic theory, the nature of this movement.

He realized that the chaotic movement of water molecules sets in motion small particles trapped in the liquid. This same property explains diffusion– the phenomenon of distribution of impurities in the vessel. Einstein later described other characteristics of molecules, suggested their sizes, and laid the foundation for statistical mechanics.

Nobel Prize

As mentioned earlier, Nobel Prize Einstein was awarded only in 1922, although he has been nominated almost every year since 1910.

His ideas were too revolutionary and ahead of technical capabilities for many years. Therefore, the physicist received the prize for his work on the phenomenon of the photoelectric effect, where there was more experimental data.

But he devoted his speech to the theory of relativity. Interesting fact: the scientist gave all the bonus money to his first wife to settle divorce proceedings.

Albert Einstein , without any doubt, is one of the greatest scientists of the twentieth century. This is probably why there have always been many rumors and myths around his figure, many of which are still popular today, although they do not correspond to reality at all.

I bring to your attention a short note in which an attempt is made to refute a couple of such persistent misconceptions about the personality of the great physicist.

I assure you that I am not going to lure anyone into the deep theoretical jungle in this note, especially since I myself know little about physics (only at the level of a long-forgotten school curriculum). To convince you of this, I will start my post with an anecdote about Einstein (and end it with an anecdote).

An American journalist once interviewed Einstein.
- What is the difference between time and eternity? - she asked.
“Dear child,” Einstein replied good-naturedly, “if I had time to explain this difference to you, an eternity would pass before you would understand it.”

Try asking someone Why Albert Einstein received the Nobel Prize . Most likely they will tell you what kind of creature it is theory of relativity .
In fact, this is not at all the case.

Albert Einstein in 1921
(Einstein was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1921)

Nobel Committee in 1922 awarded Einstein a prize for discovery of the laws of the photoelectric effect (and this confirms the quantum theory of Max Planck).
However, Albert Einstein had previously been nominated for the Nobel Prize three times (and specifically for the theory of relativity) - in 1910, 1911 and 1915. But to the members of the Nobel Committee, Einstein's work seemed so revolutionary that they did not dare to recognize it.

This is best seen in a letter to Einstein from the Secretary of the Swedish Academy of Sciences, Christopher Aurivillius, dated November 10, 1922: “As I have already informed you by telegram, the Royal Academy of Sciences, at its meeting yesterday, decided to award you the Prize in Physics for the past year, thereby recognizing your work in theoretical physics, in particular the discovery of the law of the photoelectric effect, without taking into account your work on the theory of relativity and the theory of gravity, which will be evaluated once confirmed in the future."

Among modern schoolchildren with poor grades (those who are ordinary lazy people, but not without intellectual abilities, otherwise they would not even know the name of a physicist) it has long been circulating the story that Einstein did poorly at school and even failed the math exam. Apparently they are trying to justify themselves with this: you see, Einstein was, like me, a poor student, and then became a great scientist! And I can do it, look!

I hasten to disappoint them.

Einstein's grades in both mathematics and physics were beyond praise. Another thing is that he was intolerant of the cane discipline that reigned in the Munich gymnasium (now, by the way, it bears his name). According to Einstein, the teachers of the junior classes reminded him of sergeants in their behavior, and the senior teachers reminded him of lieutenants. The teachers didn’t particularly like him either, because the behavior of the obstinate student called into question the entire orderly education system at the school. It was because of this that he gained a reputation as a bad student, and not at all because of a lack of knowledge or ability to think.

Albert Einstein's certificate from the Swiss school in Aarau in 1879
(grades are given on a 6-point scale). As you can see, in algebra, geometry and physics
The highest scores were given, but only a “C” in French:

In fairness, it should be noted that among the legends about the great scientist there are also stories that, quite possibly, could actually happen to him.

So, they write that one day he opened a book and found in it as a bookmark an unused check for one and a half thousand dollars. This could well have happened, since in Everyday life Einstein was extremely distracted. They say that he did not even remember his home address - 112 Mercer Street, Princeton, New Jersey.

It is quite possible that the following anecdotal story is true:

Albert Einstein in his youth loved to wear only a tattered jacket.
- How do you dress so casually that people will talk about you? - the neighbors were surprised.
“Why,” Einstein asked, “nobody knows me here anyway.”
Thirty years have passed. Einstein wore the same jacket.
- Why do you dress so casually that people will talk about you? - the new neighbors were already surprised.
- And what? - asked the now famous physicist. - Everyone here already knows me!

Thank you for attention.
Sergey Vorobiev.

Did you know, What is the falsity of the concept of “physical vacuum”?

Physical vacuum - concept of relativistic quantum physics, by it they mean the lowest (ground) energy state of the quantized field, which has zero momentum, angular momentum and other quantum numbers. Relativistic theorists call a physical vacuum a space completely devoid of matter, filled with an unmeasurable, and therefore only imaginary, field. Such a state, according to relativists, is not an absolute void, but a space filled with some phantom (virtual) particles. Relativistic quantum field theory states that, in accordance with the Heisenberg uncertainty principle, virtual, that is, apparent (apparent to whom?), particles are constantly born and disappeared in the physical vacuum: so-called zero-point field oscillations occur. Virtual particles of the physical vacuum, and therefore itself, by definition, do not have a reference system, since otherwise Einstein’s principle of relativity, on which the theory of relativity is based, would be violated (that is, an absolute measurement system with reference to the particles of the physical vacuum would become possible, which in turn would clearly refute the principle of relativity on which the SRT is based). Thus, the physical vacuum and its particles are not elements of the physical world, but only elements of the theory of relativity, which do not exist in the real world, but only in relativistic formulas, while violating the principle of causality (they appear and disappear without cause), the principle of objectivity (virtual particles can be considered, depending on the desire of the theorist, either existing or non-existent), the principle of factual measurability (not observable, do not have their own ISO).

When one or another physicist uses the concept of “physical vacuum,” he either does not understand the absurdity of this term, or is disingenuous, being a hidden or overt adherent of relativistic ideology.

The easiest way to understand the absurdity of this concept is to turn to the origins of its occurrence. It was born by Paul Dirac in the 1930s, when it became clear that the denial of ether in pure form how I did it great mathematician, but a mediocre physicist, is no longer possible. There are too many facts that contradict this.

To defend relativism, Paul Dirac introduced the aphysical and illogical concept of negative energy, and then the existence of a “sea” of two energies compensating each other in a vacuum - positive and negative, as well as a “sea” of particles compensating each other - virtual (that is, apparent) electrons and positrons in a vacuum.