thumb|upright=0.8|Einstein in 1904 or 1905, about the time he wrote the papers

The papers (from ) are four papers that Albert Einstein published in the scientific journal ' (Annals of Physics) in 1905. As major contributions to the foundation of modern physics, these scientific publications were the ones for which he gained fame among physicists. They revolutionized science's understanding of the fundamental concepts of space, time, mass, and energy.

  1. The first paper explained the photoelectric effect, which established the energy of the light quanta <math>E = hf</math>, and was the only specific discovery mentioned in the citation awarding Einstein the 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics.
  2. The second paper explained Brownian motion, which established the Einstein relation <math>D = \mu \, k_\text{B} T</math> and compelled physicists to accept the existence of atoms.
  3. The third paper introduced Einstein's special theory of relativity, which proclaims the constancy of the speed of light <math>c</math> and derives the Lorentz transformations. Einstein also examined relativistic aberration and the transverse Doppler effect.
  4. The fourth, a consequence of special relativity, developed the principle of mass–energy equivalence, expressed in the equation <math>E = mc^2</math> and which led to the discovery and use of nuclear power decades later.

These four papers, together with quantum mechanics and Einstein's later general theory of relativity, are the foundation of modern physics.

Background

thumb|upright=0.8|The on the [[Kramgasse in Bern, Einstein's residence at the time. Most of the papers were written in his apartment on the first floor above the street level.]]

At the time the papers were written, Einstein did not have easy access to a complete set of scientific reference materials, although he did regularly read and contribute reviews to '. Additionally, scientific colleagues available to discuss his theories were few. He worked as an examiner at the Patent Office in Bern, Switzerland, and he later said of a co-worker there, Michele Besso, that he "could not have found a better sounding board for my ideas in all of Europe". In addition, co-workers and the other members of the self-styled "Olympia Academy" (Maurice Solovine and Conrad Habicht) and his wife, Mileva Marić, had some influence on Einstein's work, but how much is unclear.

Through these papers, Einstein tackled some of the era's most important physics questions and problems. In 1900, Lord Kelvin, in a lecture titled "Nineteenth-Century Clouds over the Dynamical Theory of Heat and Light", suggested that physics had no satisfactory explanations for the results of the Michelson–Morley experiment and for black body radiation. As introduced, special relativity provided an account for the results of the Michelson–Morley experiments. Einstein's explanation of the photoelectric effect extended the quantum theory which Max Planck had developed in his successful explanation of black-body radiation.

Despite the greater fame achieved by his other works, such as that on special relativity, it was his work on the photoelectric effect that won him his Nobel Prize in 1921. The Nobel committee had waited patiently for experimental confirmation of special relativity; however, none was forthcoming until the time dilation experiments of Ives and Stilwell (1938 and 1941) and Rossi and Hall (1941).

Papers

Photoelectric effect

thumb|Table of contents of the journal ' for the issue of June 1905. Einstein's paper on the photoelectric effect is sixth on this list.

The article "" ("On a Heuristic Viewpoint Concerning the Production and Transformation of Light") A complete picture of the theory of photoelectricity was realized after the maturity of quantum mechanics.

Brownian motion

The article "" ("On the Motion of Small Particles Suspended in a Stationary Liquid, as Required by the Molecular Kinetic Theory of Heat"),

Special relativity

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Einstein's "" ("On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies"),]]

On 21 November ' published a fourth paper (received September 27): "" ("Does the Inertia of a Body Depend Upon Its Energy Content?"),

Einstein considered the equivalency equation to be of paramount importance because it showed that a massive particle possesses an energy, the "rest energy", distinct from its classical kinetic and potential energies. The paper is based on Maxwell and Hertz's investigations and, in addition, the axioms of relativity, as Einstein states,

The equation sets forth that the energy of a body at rest () equals its mass () times the speed of light () squared, or .

The mass–energy relation can be used to predict how much energy will be released or consumed by nuclear reactions; one simply measures the mass of all constituents and the mass of all the products and multiplies the difference between the two by . The result shows how much energy will be released or consumed, usually in the form of light or heat. When applied to certain nuclear reactions, the equation shows that an extraordinarily large amount of energy will be released, millions of times as much as in the combustion of chemical explosives, where the amount of mass converted to energy is negligible. This explains why nuclear reactions produce enormous amounts of energy, as they release binding energy during nuclear fission and nuclear fusion, and convert a portion of subatomic mass to energy.

Commemoration

The International Union of Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP) resolved to commemorate the 100th year of the publication of Einstein's extensive work in 1905 as the World Year of Physics 2005. This was subsequently endorsed by the United Nations.

Notes

References

Citations

Primary sources

Secondary sources

  • Gribbin, John, and Gribbin, Mary. Annus Mirabilis: 1905, Albert Einstein, and the Theory of Relativity, Chamberlain Bros., 2005. .
  • Renn, Jürgen, and Dieter Hoffmann, "1905a miraculous year". 2005 J. Phys. B: At. Mol. Opt. Phys. 38 S437-S448 (Max Planck Institute for the History of Science) [Issue 9 (14 May 2005)]. .
  • Stachel, John, et al., Einstein's Miraculous Year. Princeton University Press, 1998. .
  • Collection of the Annus Mirabilis papers and their English translations at the Library of Congress website