Brief Biography of Albert Einstein

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Albert Einstein was born March 14, 1879 in Ulm, Germany. Around age 10 or 11, Einstein became curious about the mysteries of science and longed for a greater understanding. As a child, Einstein took music lessons; he learned to play the piano and violin and continued through out is life. As a young child, his parents moved during his school career: once to Italy then a second time to Switzerland where he graduated in 1896. Einstein was educated at the Federal Polytechnic School in Zurich where he learned to teach physics and mathematics. After graduation in 1901, he could not find a job so he decided to take a respectful job at the Swiss Patent Office. While working there, he returned to school to pursue his Doctorate degree which he completed in 1905.

After working in the Patent Office, as Privatdozent and Professor Extraordinaire in Zurich, Professor of Theoretical Physics at Prague, Professor at the University of Berlin (created the theory of relativity and gravitation) and Doctor of the Kaiser Wilhelm Physical Institute, in 1914 he became a German citizen and remained there until 1933. For political reasons (the Nazi Control and all that it would bring) that year, he renounced his citizenship and moved to America to take the job as Professor of Theoretical Physics at Princeton. In 1940 he became a citizen of the United States and retired from his as a professor in 1945.

With his ever inquisitive mind and his extensive study of physics, he knew the conflicts associated with physics and science and longed to solve the issues and offer the world explanations for what seemed to be unexplainable. He set forth with a plan only understanding that his “minor” achievements were only stepping stones for the next big step

At the beginning of his work as a scientist, although inspired by Newton, Einstein understood the inadequacy of Newton’s mechanics and his theory of relativity. He dealt with old problems of arithmetical mechanics as it was related to the quantum theory; this led to an explanation of the Brownian transition of molecules. He investigated light (thermal properties) along with very low radiation density. From this research, Einstein offered what would become the Photon Theory of Light. With this theory of light, he challenged Euclidean geometry. He questioned that if the world is round, then how would two parallel lines never meet and what role would the gravitational pull of the Earth have on the lines?

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