Einstein Created Modern Physics With 4 Papers in 1 Miracle Year, 1905
One of the fun facts about Albert Einstein for kids is that he often worked on physics when he should have been examining patents at his day job. To Einstein’s credit, he continued his education, even while he worked! While working as a patent clerk, Albert Einstein continued to study physics and submit papers for publication. In 1905, Einstein would have the most incredible year of his life. His mind was moving so fast! There are almost too many Albert Einstein facts in 1905 alone to keep up with!
In 1905, Einstein published four important papers on physics. These were papers that would change physics forever, and alter the course of life in the 20th century. All his papers were published in the Annalen der Physik, a prestigious scientific journal.
Einstein’s first paper, on the photoelectric effect, would later earn him the Nobel Prize. His second paper, on Brownian motion described the movement of molecules.
The next two papers were so revolutionary, that it would be another 30 years or more until Einstein’s theories could be proven. Einstein’s paper on special relativity was the first big leap beyond Isaac Newton’s theories from almost 250 years earlier. Newton had his own miracle year or annus mirabilis, the Latin name often used to describe this phenomenon of events in a person’s life or in history. Newton’s miracle year was 1666, when he created breakthrough inventions and made important discoveries in calculus, motion, optics, and gravitation.
Two hundred and thirty nine years later, Einstein was blazing the path for modern physics that would take humankind beyond the classical worldview of Newtonian motion and gravity. This is one of the most important Albert Einstein facts. Einstein’s discoveries in physics are important because they changed the way we see the world and made a number of new discoveries and inventions possible. Einstein was only 26 years old and he was already altering the course of human history with only his mind, paper and pen!
Einstein’s fourth paper in 1905 is perhaps his most famous, as it contains his equation, E = mc2 . This is a revolutionary paper in nuclear physics that describes the behavior of matter as it approaches the speed of light. The amazing conclusion of this paper is that mass is equivalent to energy! This idea, even today, seems fantastic, but is one of the most important Albert Einstein facts that he established.
Many people consider E = mc2 to be the most famous equation ever. It was a monumental work that would change human life forever, as well as Einstein’s life. While his three other papers from 1905 would have been enough to establish Einstein as one of the greatest geniuses of all time, this fourth paper would make Einstein an international celebrity.
During the April of this same year, Einstein also received his PhD from the University of Zürich. His doctoral dissertation was A New Determination of Molecular Dimensions. It’s amazing to think that Albert Einstein accomplished all of this when he was only 26 years old! This is one of the Albert Einstein facts that is inspiring for kids and young adults.