Einstein didn't think his formula would be useful to describe the interaction of particles, but at the right time, we saw that Einstein's formula even described electrons and their antiparticles, that is, positrons annihilated into two photons, or produced a pair of positive and negative electrons through the collision of two photons. The energy produced by nuclear reactors is also a direct application of Einstein's formula.
1905, Einstein published five papers, which set off a physics revolution that influenced for a hundred years. Until now, Einstein's scientific thought still guides us to change the world. His five papers are:
The light quantum and photoelectric effect are discussed from the enlightening point of view of light generation and transformation.
According to the new molecular size determination method, the mathematical formula for calculating diffusion velocity is derived.
The motion of small suspended particles in still liquid required by the theory of thermomolecular motion provides evidence that atoms do exist.
On the electrodynamics of moving objects puts forward a new theory of space-time relationship, which is called "special relativity"
Whether the inertia of an object determines its internal energy is based on special relativity, which shows that mass and energy are interchangeable. Later, the most famous scientific equation was deduced: E=mc2.
Albert Einstein (1879 to 1955) said in a conversation with his son Edwa in 19 19: "When a beetle crawls on a curved branch, it doesn't realize that the branch is curved. I was lucky enough to notice something that beetles didn't notice. " This is Einstein's scientific journey.
A mentally retarded child published a paper that changed the world at the age of 26.
Einstein was born in Ulm, a small city in southern Germany. The motto of this city is "All Ulm people are mathematicians". Citizens attach great importance to education. Einstein was not considered a genius by his parents and teachers. He didn't start talking until he was three years old. He had to think for a long time when answering questions at school. The headmaster even said to Einstein's father: Your child has no future. After middle age, Einstein wrote in a letter to a friend: "Why did I discover the theory of relativity instead of others? I think it may be because I was a mentally retarded child when I was a child. Most people's understanding of time and space was completed in childhood, but I developed late and began to think about time and space in adulthood. Of course, adults should think deeper and more mature when they are children. "
Einstein's pure pursuit of scientific problems such as time and space runs through his life. /kloc-at the age of 0/2, under the guidance of his uncle and others who are electrical engineers, he read the geometric works of the ancient great mathematician O 'Keeled. /kloc-When he was 0/6 years old, he wrote his first scientific paper, Study on the Ether State in Magnetic Field. Einstein 1900 graduated from the Higher Institute of Engineering in Zurich, Switzerland, and obtained the qualification certificate of mathematics teacher, but he didn't teach. Some of his scientific statements are considered "illogical". After working as a clerk in the Swiss Patent Office, he still insisted on his research, and his papers were returned again and again. Until 1905, the German version of Chronicle of Physics (also known as Yearbook of Physics) finally published Einstein's first paper, an inspiring view on the generation and transformation of light. This year, Einstein was 26 years old, and he repeatedly published five "papers that changed the world" in this authoritative magazine.
Light. Photoelectric effect. Infinite laser.
Einstein's first paper published in June 1905, an enlightening view on the generation and transformation of light, explained the nature of light, which won him the Nobel Prize in Physics in 192 1. In this paper, Einstein applied the quantum concept to explain the photoelectric effect: when a metal with static electricity is irradiated by light, it will release electrons. He believes that light beams are composed of particles (later called photons), which contradicts the mainstream concept that light only has wave properties. This paper paves the way for the wide acceptance of wave-particle duality of light, which constitutes the cornerstone of quantum mechanics. The photoelectric effect later became the basis of many technologies.
Einstein's research on light has always influenced the development of modern optics, taking laser technology as an example. 19 17 years, Einstein continued to explore the problems of light and matter in his paper "On the Quantum of Radiation". He realized that if atoms absorb light, they can become excited, that is, jump to a higher energy level, and they will naturally emit light back to a lower energy level. In addition to absorption and spontaneous emission, Einstein concluded that there must be a third effect, that is, photons can induce excited atoms to emit another photon, and these two photons can stimulate other two atoms to emit photons, thus producing four photons, and four photons can produce eight, and so on.
This technique of generating coherent beams will establish "population inversion", that is, there are more excited atoms than non-excited atoms, thus finding a way to concentrate photon emission into a strong beam. This idea was not realized until 1954. Inspired by Einstein's advanced theory, H.Townes of Columbia University and his colleagues invented the maser, the predecessor of laser.
Atoms. Suspended particles. Modern statistical mechanics.
Einstein's paper "Motion of Small Suspended Particles in Still Liquid Required by the Theory of Thermal Molecular Motion" published in July 1905 is considered as the second paper that "has a revolutionary impact on the world". In the paper, Einstein provided evidence for "the existence of atoms of a specific size".
From19th century to the beginning of 20th century, the existence of atoms was controversial. In this paper, Einstein established the mathematical laws governing Brownian motion, and extended the views of Brownian motion and atomic existence. He predicted the quantity and quality of molecules in a given volume of liquid and how these molecules move quickly. This irregular movement is called Brownian Movement, named after the irregular zigzag movement of pollen in water observed by robert brown in the early19th century. Einstein thought that the movement of water molecules was strong enough to push suspended particles, so the vibration of particles could be observed under a microscope. This paper is a great contribution to modern statistical mechanics, and its derived method can be used to simulate the behavior of air pollutants or the fluctuation trend of stock market. In 2003, C.Sturm of Princeton University and his collaborators made a brown ratchet, which looked a bit like a pinball machine the size of a thumb nail. In several tests, Sturm carried out separation experiments. He passed the DNA mixture of water and two different viruses through a ratchet wheel, and the heavier virus genome was reliably separated from the lighter virus genome. Using this Einstein-like technology can save the time needed to separate large DNA fragments, which can save 2/3 of the time compared with the current methods, and it is cheaper and more portable.
Relativity. The concepts of time and space. Mass energy conversion
Two papers published by Einstein in September 1905 and June12005, on electrodynamics of a moving object and whether the inertia of an object determines its internal energy, were briefly described as "special relativity" and were considered as the most epoch-making theoretical revolutions. In On Electrodynamics of Moving Objects, Einstein proposed a new method to understand the relationship between time and space. In "Does the inertia of an object determine its internal energy?" Einstein discussed that mass and energy are interchangeable on the basis of special relativity.
The principle of relativity appeared hundreds of years before Einstein. Galileo proposed in 1632 that no matter what the observer's motion state is, as long as its motion speed is constant, all physical laws are the same. Seen from the deck of a ship traveling at a constant speed, stones fall vertically from the mast; You will see the same situation from the deck of a stationary ship. This principle of relativity is also applicable to Newton's laws of mechanics put forward in the middle of17th century. However, with the appearance of electromagnetism in the late19th century, this consistency was broken.
Einstein set out to deal with the disharmony between electromagnetism and other fields of physics. As a scientist with profound aesthetic consciousness, he can't tolerate that the principle of relativity can't explain electromagnetism like Newtonian mechanics. In this article on special relativity from 65438 to 0905, by applying the principle of relativity to electromagnetism, he reiterated that the principle is applicable to all physics and confirmed that the speed of light is a constant. While solving the paradox of relativity, this paper also puts forward a new principle of relativity that is contrary to people's conventional intuition, that is, whether the observer is sitting in a rocking chair on the front porch or riding in a future spaceship rising at nearly the speed of light, the speed of light is constant to him. The principle that the speed of light is constant completely destroys our absolute view of time and space. Speed equals distance divided by time. Their weight will be heavier than before the spacecraft took off.
Einstein's fifth paper in the Year of Miracles, as an appendix to the special theory of relativity, describes that "the mass of an object is a measure of its internal energy". Einstein reformulated the concept of internal energy as the most famous scientific equation in history in 1907. Equation E=mc2 also applies to kinetic energy. Compared with the observer in the rocking chair, the faster the speed of the spacecraft, the greater its kinetic energy and mass, and the more difficult it is to accelerate. When the speed of the spacecraft is close to the speed of light, the energy increment required to improve the flight speed is so large that it is more and more difficult to continue to accelerate, which is one of the reasons why the ftl rocket spacecraft can only appear in science fiction.
After 1905, the best result really appeared. As a result of knowledge, Einstein published his general theory of relativity in 19 16. Einstein's theory is very close to reality, from proving the existence of atoms, deducing the formula of E=mc2, to the explosion of atomic bombs. 1939 In August, Einstein wrote to President Roosevelt, suggesting that the United States carry out nuclear research, fearing that German fascists might make atomic bombs. Then the United States had the "Manhattan Project" to develop an atomic bomb. However, Einstein did not participate. His theory is widely used in various fields.
The significance of relativity