The foremost Scientist of 20th century and mathematical physicist whose pioneering theory of relativity superseded Newton’s theory of gravitation. He is hailed as the father of Nuclear Bomb and was honored with Nobel Prize for Physics in 1921, for discovering the law of photoelectric effect. Einstein’s theories brought about a startling revolution in the world of science, though they were based on common everyday instances. His amazing ability to think deep and go into the heart of matter made Einstein, a genius in the fields of physics and mathematics. His idea of surface tension, the elastic-skin effect of a liquid surface that holds a drop together was born while taking a stroll on the wet sands of a beach. Modern science is greatly indebted to this gentle German Jew with pleasant manners and a brilliant, incisive mind.
Born on 14th March 1879 in the town of Ulm in Wurttemberg in Germany, Einstein was no child prodigy. In fact, he did not learn to speak until the age of three and his parents feared that he might be a dullard. At school he was considered average until he taught himself calculus and the teachers began to fear facing his staggering questions.
When Einstein was barely one year old his parents moved to a large south German town of Munich. There in partnership with his brother, Einstein’s father opened a small electrochemical factory. Here Einstein spent his early childhood. Under the tutelage and influence of his uncle, Einstein developed a keen interest in maths and physics. Together they explored the mysteries of the algebraic and mathematical numbers. Young Einstein inherited the love for music from his mother. He was an accomplished amateur musician and played the violin. He preferred the music of Mozart to Beethoven for he felt that while Beethoven “created” music, Mozart “found” music.
Einstein’s family migrated to Milan in Italy, when he was 15 years old. He was left behind to complete his studies at the Luitbold Gymnasium. But regimentation of the school’s curriculum did not appeal to his bohemian soul and with the sunny shores of Italy beckoning him he left for Milan. He joined his parents only to find that his father had gone bankrupt. He then migrated to Switzerland. He failed his entrance examination at the reputed Swiss Federal Polytechnic School in Zurich, the first time. The next year he was admitted. Here, he met a young Hungarian Girl, Mileva Maritsch. They shared a passion for physics and often spent hours working on the problems posed by physics. On leaving the polytechnic they got married. But unfortunately Einstein discovered that beyond the world of physics they had little in common. It was the birth of tow sons that kept them together for many years.
On leaving the polytechnic, Einstein acquired Swiss citizenship. By this time, he was very much in love with the pristine Swiss mountains. He found a job in the patent office at Berne. His job entailed him to investigate every invention. He then had to pick out basic ideas from these and put them accurately on paper. It left him plenty of time to pursue his studies. The first recognition came his ways when Einstein published his papers on the production and transformation of light on the electrodynamics of moving bodies in 1905. His talent was recognized and he was at once given the post of junior professor at the University of Zurich. At the University, Einstein the simple man had to live up to social standard of department that his intellectual mind found hard to cope with. The family had a hard time, “keeping appearances”. This was difficult with the limited salary that he earned. Years later recounting his days at Zurich, Einstein jokingly remarked, “In my Relativity I set up a clock at every point in space-but in reality, I found it difficult to provide even one in my room. “One of the most remarkable traits of Einstein was his down to earth attitude. Though having seen financial hardship, he continued to be content with the bare minimum. Greed or a desire for materialism was foreign to him.
On being invited to the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton many years later when he was a renowned personality, he was offered carte blanche as salary. Einstein asked for an impossible sum; it was far too small. The director of the institute had to plead with him to accept at least a decent salary. Such was the simplicity that this great man exuded.
In 1911, he went to Prague on a better paid post as a Professor. Being part of the Jewish ethos, for the first time Einstein was exposed to anti-Semitism. He subsequently went back to Zurich and taught at the polytechnic for two years.
By this time Einstein was a scientist of international repute. He gained membership of the Royal Prussian Academy of Science and the directorship of the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute at Berlin. Here he met his happy go lucky distant cousin Elsa Einstein and fell in love with her. He married her. They enjoyed a fulfilling relation until her death in 1936. Einstein grieved, but it was his pre-occupation with his work that made him cope with the sudden vacuum in his life. At the time of his wife’s death a Polish physicist Leopald Infeld and Banesh Hoffman were working with Einstein. Hoffman, visiting Einstein at the time recalls a haggard, grief lined man. Subtly, by way of consolation, Hoffman veered the conversation to an absorbing discussion about physics. He intended to distract Einstein however momentarily from his present grief. Einstein soon was absorbed in the discussion and time flew that day. Hoffman’s kindness did not escape Einstein. As Hoffman was about to leave, Einstein in a voice filled with emotion said. “It was fun.” This was Einstein’s way of saying thank you.
Einstein though a radical bohemian in the sense of not adhering to any faith, was the “… most religious man I have known,” said Hoffman. Einstein believed that ideas came from God and that the law of the Universe laid down by God was subtle but not malicious. The puzzling contradictions that the Universe presented were natural. They were there to goad man to “tink” (think). A heavy accept prevented the formation of the sound “th”. When facing a quaint problem Einstein would pace up and down, twirling a lock of long graying hair around his forefingers and smoked a pipe. Minutes would pass in silent communion with the inner working of his mind before he came up with an answer.
After 1919, Einstein became an internationally renowned figure. He was conferred with honors and awards wherever he went. He received the Noble prize in 1921 but the selection committee had to avoid mentioning relativity which was highly controversial at the time and pretended to give him the prize for his work on the quantum theory. With the Nazi reign of terror his theories were declared false, for they came from a Jew. Apart from confiscating his property it has been rumored that a price was put on his head.
Zionism and pacifism claimed a good deal of Einstein’s attention. During World War I, he was one of the few academics to publicly decry Germany’s involvement in the war. After the war his continued public support of the pacifist and Zionist goals made him the target of vicious attacks by anti-Semitic and right wing elements in Germany.
When Hitler came to power, Einstein decided to leave Germany. He migrated to the US. There, he joined the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton, New Jersey. Here, he continued to support Zionism but renounced his pacifist stand in the face of the awesome threat to humankind posed by the Nazi reign of terror. In 1939 Einstein collaborated with several other physicists in writing a letter to President Franklin D Roosevelt. The letter alerted the US Govt. to Germany’s potential and likelihood in making an atomic bomb. This in turn ironically plunged the Roosevelt administration into making their own atomic bomb. Einstein unaware of this was utterly dismayed to hear of the agony and destruction that his E=mc2 had wrought.
After the war, Einstein was active in the cause of international disarmament and world govt. He continued to support Zionism but declined the offer made by the leaders of the state of Israel to become President of that country. In the US during the late 1940’s and early 50’s he poke out on the need for the nation’s intellectuals to make any sacrifice necessary to preserve political freedom. Einstein died in Princeton in USA on April 18, 1955. His writings include Relativity: The special and General Theory (1916); About Zionism (1931); Builder of the Universe (1932); Why war? (1933) with Sigmund Freud; The world As I see (1934); with the polish physicist Leopald Infeld; and Out of My Later Years (1950).
