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cover of episode Albert Einstein
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D
Diana Kormos Buchwald
J
John Heilbron
R
Richard Staley
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John Heilbron: 我将尝试解释爱因斯坦早年的经历以及他的家庭背景。爱因斯坦于1900年21岁时从苏黎世理工学院毕业，当时他失业、无国籍且固执。他出生于巴伐利亚州的乌尔姆，他的父亲和叔叔经营一家电气技术公司，从事电表和城市照明等业务。因此，他在一个电动力学是兄弟姐妹的环境中长大，这对他后来的工作非常方便，因为相对论确实起源于电动力学理论的环境。他最初在家接受教育。在很小的时候，他的家人搬到了慕尼黑，那里的电气技术业务前景更好。他上了一所小学，那是一所天主教学校。他是班上唯一的犹太人。他学习了孩子们关于基督教的一切知识，家人试图纠正这一点，尽管他们并不虔诚。当他九岁上中学时，他每周必须接受两个小时祖先宗教的宗教教育。所以他那时学习了犹太教。直到他12岁准备行成人礼时，他才变得非常虔诚，在那时，他放弃了它，然而，保留了一种宗教信仰。 Diana Kormos Buchwald: 爱因斯坦在17岁时就被苏黎世理工学院录取，并在1896年至1900年期间学习。在他17岁参加当地学校考试时，在他平庸的法语考试中，《我的未来计划》中，他写道，他希望自己的职业是物理学，特别是理论物理学。因此，在17岁时，爱因斯坦已经决定了他在大学的道路，这条道路与他的父亲和叔叔所偏好的道路相反。他们希望他学习工程学，而他注册了理工学院的6A部分，这是理论物理学和数学部分，将培养中学教师。这所学校是一所著名的学校。只有极少数学生被录取到理论部分。除了现任教授海因里希·韦伯的讲座外，他对物理理论的研究主要依靠自学。我们有他的讲义笔记，它们表明他对这个主题的热情。但需要注意的是，他没有学习当时最重要的主题。他没有学习麦克斯韦方程组和电磁理论。那没有教。然而，他喜欢实验室工作。有趣的是，他在大学里获得的唯一最高分是实验室工作。 Richard Staley: 我想从1900年国际物理学大会上两位著名人物的发言中可以很好地了解这一点，一位是来自英国的开尔文勋爵，另一位是来自法国的亨利·庞加莱。开尔文勋爵阐述了他之前确定的地平线上两朵乌云之一。首先是实验未能探测到地球穿过以太的运动，这是电动力学理论中的一个问题；其次是能量均分定理的不足。第一个问题对当时许多人来说都是一个重大问题。戴安娜提到了麦克斯韦方程组作为关键要素的重要性。电磁理论席卷了物理学，并提供了一套全新的理想和指导性见解。这是一个场论，作用随着时间的推移在空间中传播。而对电磁场的理解必须通过以太来实现，人们认识到，地球穿过以太的运动在实验中根本没有被探测到。阿尔伯特·米歇尔森进行了一项非常复杂的实验，结果为零。现在，开尔文对这个问题的答案实际上是，我们在这个问题上做得还不错。洛伦兹和其他人引入了电子的概念，这是一种带电粒子。带电粒子在电磁场中运动，它自然会受到这种运动的影响。洛伦兹建议，事实上所有粒子都可能在其运动方向上收缩，以补偿预期的穿过以太的运动效应。因此，开尔文对解决这个问题的前景相当乐观。他谈到的第二个问题是关于能量均分定理的问题。这是在研究统计力学以及气体分子相互作用的方式。他认为，很难相信气体中每个自由度的平均动能都与麦克斯韦和玻尔兹曼提出的相同。在这种情况下，开尔文只是认为应该摆脱这一点，忘记它。有趣的是，正如戴安娜所说，阿尔伯特·爱因斯坦实际上非常关注以太理论。而他在大部分私人学习中非常重视的另一件事是统计力学的学习。所以这是开尔文提出的两个问题。我想提到的另一个人是数学家亨利·庞加莱，他对这个问题给出了更一般的观点，他谈到需要超越对特定机制的寻找，去寻找物理学各个领域之间的统一性，他提议寻找普遍原理，尤其对相对性原理和作用与反作用原理之间的关系感兴趣，爱因斯坦也对此非常重视。他非常喜欢思想实验

Deep Dive

Key Insights

Why is 1905 referred to as Albert Einstein's 'Annus Mirabilis'?

1905 is called Einstein's 'Annus Mirabilis' (miraculous year) because he published four groundbreaking papers that revolutionized physics. These papers addressed the photoelectric effect, Brownian motion, special relativity, and the mass-energy equivalence (E=mc²), fundamentally changing scientific understanding.

What role did Max Planck play in Einstein's career?

Max Planck was a key supporter of Einstein, publishing his papers in the prestigious journal Annalen der Physik and advocating for his theories. Planck also facilitated Einstein's move to Berlin, offering him a position that allowed him to focus on his research, leading to the development of general relativity.

How did Einstein's work at the patent office influence his scientific contributions?

Einstein's role as a patent examiner allowed him to analyze technical submissions, providing him with access to scientific literature and journals. This environment fostered his independent study of electromagnetism, thermoelectricity, and the theory of electrons, which laid the groundwork for his revolutionary papers in 1905.

What were the key issues in physics that Einstein addressed in his 1905 papers?

Einstein tackled major unresolved problems in physics, including the failure to detect Earth's motion through the ether, the photoelectric effect, Brownian motion, and the relationship between mass and energy. His work provided new insights into electromagnetism, statistical mechanics, and the nature of light.

Why did Einstein become an international celebrity in 1919?

Einstein gained worldwide fame in 1919 when a solar eclipse confirmed his general theory of relativity by demonstrating that gravity bends light. This empirical validation of his theory made him a household name and solidified his status as a scientific genius.

How did Einstein's Jewish identity impact his career and reputation?

Einstein's Jewish identity became more pronounced after he moved to Berlin, where anti-Semitism was prevalent. While it initially did not hinder his career, it later made him a target of attacks, particularly from anti-relativity and anti-Semitic groups in the 1920s.

What was Einstein's stance on quantum mechanics?

Einstein was skeptical of the probabilistic nature of quantum mechanics, famously stating that 'God does not play dice with the universe.' He believed in a deterministic universe and spent much of his later years attempting to reconcile quantum theory with his own theories.

How did World War I influence Einstein's political views?

During World War I, Einstein became a vocal pacifist and internationalist. He opposed the nationalist fervor sweeping Germany and signed a manifesto advocating for European unity and peace, marking the beginning of his active engagement in political and social issues.

What was the significance of the 1911 Solvay Conference for Einstein?

The 1911 Solvay Conference was the first major physics conference dedicated to a specific topic, focusing on the quantum theory crisis. Einstein's participation solidified his reputation among leading physicists, as he presented a research agenda that shaped the field for decades.

How did Einstein's thought experiments contribute to his theories?

Einstein's thought experiments were crucial in developing his theories. For example, his 15-year-old idea of chasing a light wave led to special relativity, while imagining a falling man helped him connect gravity and acceleration, forming the basis of general relativity.

Chapters
This chapter explores Einstein's early life, his family background in the electrical technology business, and his somewhat unconventional education. Despite academic struggles in certain subjects, his passion for physics and mathematics shone through, leading him to the Zurich Polytechnic Institute.
  • Born in Ulm, Bavaria; family ran an electrotechnical business
  • Early education at home and Catholic school
  • Struggled academically in subjects he disliked, affecting his university application
  • Eventually gained admission to the Zurich Polytechnic Institute

Shownotes Transcript

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the man who, in 1905, produced several papers that were to change the world of physics and whose name went on to become a byword for genius. This was Albert Einstein, then still a technical expert at a Swiss patent office, and that year of 1905 became known as his annus mirabilis ('miraculous year'). While Einstein came from outside the academic world, some such as Max Planck championed his theory of special relativity, his principle of mass-energy equivalence that followed, and his explanations of Brownian Motion and the photoelectric effect. Yet it was not until 1919, when a solar eclipse proved his theory that gravity would bend light, that Einstein became an international celebrity and developed into an almost mythical figure.

With

Richard Staley Professor in History and Philosophy of Science at the University of Cambridge and Professor in History of Science at the University of Copenhagen

Diana Kormos Buchwald Robert M. Abbey Professor of History and Director and General Editor of The Einstein Papers Project at the California Institute of Technology

And

John Heilbron Professor Emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley

Producer: Simon Tillotson

Reading list:

Ronald W. Clark, Einstein: The Life and Times (first published 1971; HarperPaperbacks, 2011)

Albert Einstein (eds. Jurgen Renn and Hanoch Gutfreund), Relativity: The Special and the General Theory - 100th Anniversary Edition (Princeton University Press, 2019)

Albert Einstein, Out of My Later Years (first published 1950; Citadel Press, 1974)

Albert Einstein (ed. Paul A. Schilpp), Albert Einstein: Philosopher-Scientist: The Library of Living Philosophers Volume VII (first published 1949; Open Court, 1970)

Albert Einstein (eds. Otto Nathan and Heinz Norden), Einstein on Peace (first published 1981; Literary Licensing, 2011)

Albrecht Folsing, Albert Einstein: A Biography (Viking, 1997)

J. L. Heilbron, Niels Bohr: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford University Press, 2020)

Walter Isaacson, Einstein: His Life and Universe (Simon & Schuster, 2008)

Max Jammer, Einstein and Religion (Princeton University Press, 2002)

Michel Janssen and Christoph Lehner (eds.), The Cambridge Companion to Einstein (Cambridge University Press, 2014)

Dennis Overbye, Einstein in Love: A Scientific Romance (Viking, 2000)

Abraham Pais, Subtle Is the Lord: The Science and the Life of Albert Einstein (Oxford University Press, 1982)

David E. Rowe and Robert Schulmann (eds.), Einstein on Politics: His Private Thoughts and Public Stands on Nationalism, Zionism, War, Peace, and the Bomb (Princeton University Press, 2007)

Matthew Stanley, Einstein's War: How Relativity Triumphed Amid the Vicious Nationalism of World War I (Dutton, 2019)

Fritz Stern, Einstein’s German World (Princeton University Press, 1999)

A. Douglas Stone, Einstein and the Quantum: The Quest of the Valiant Swabian (Princeton University Press, 2013)

Milena Wazeck (trans. Geoffrey S. Koby), Einstein's Opponents: The Public Controversy About the Theory of Relativity in the 1920s (Cambridge University Press, 2014)