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Albert Einstein

✨ 1879–1955, Theoretical physics

Albert Einstein (1879–1955) was a physicist born in Germany whose work reshaped modern physics. He is best known for special and general relativity. In 1905, while working at the patent office in Bern, he published several important papers. One explained Brownian motion and supported the existence of atoms.

Another introduced special relativity: measurements of space and time depend on the observer’s motion, while the speed of light in a vacuum is the same for all inertial observers. This led to E = mc², expressing the equivalence of mass and energy. In 1915, Einstein completed general relativity, which describes gravity through the curvature of spacetime caused by matter and energy.

Einstein also contributed to quantum physics. In 1905, his explanation of the photoelectric effect proposed that light transfers energy in discrete amounts, later called photons. For this work, he received the 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics. He held academic posts in Switzerland and Germany before moving to the United States in 1933, after the Nazis came to power.

He spent the rest of his career at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton. He was also interested in the foundations of physics. Later observations supported his theories, including the bending of light by gravity and differences in clock rates.

💡 Did you know?

A child too quiet. When he was little, Albert took a long time before starting to speak. His parents were very worried and thought he was not gifted! In reality, he simply preferred to observe the world in silence. Later, he said his mind functioned in images rather than words.

The imaginary journey. At 16, Albert asked himself a strange question: 'What would happen if I could run at the same speed as a ray of light?'. It's by making this kind of imaginary journey in his head that he succeeded in discovering secrets of the universe that no one had understood before him.

No socks! Einstein was a very original genius. He hated wearing socks and never put any on, even to meet presidents! He said it was a waste of time and that his toes always ended up making holes in them. He preferred to keep his mind free for thinking.