Portal:Physics/Selected article/December 2010



Einstein's scientific publications

Albert Einstein (1879–1955) was a renowned theoretical physicist of the 20th century who is best known for his theories of special relativity and general relativity. He also made important contributions to statistical mechanics, especially his treatment of Brownian motion, his resolution of the paradox of specific heats, and his connection of fluctuations and dissipation. Despite his reservations about its interpretation, Einstein also made seminal contributions to quantum mechanics and, indirectly, quantum field theory, primarily through his theoretical studies of the photon.
 * In 1905, Einstein developed the theory of special relativity, which reconciled the relativity of motion with the observed constancy of the speed of light (a paradox of 19th-century physics).
 * Likewise in 1905, Einstein developed a theory of Brownian motion in terms of fluctuations in the number of molecular collisions with an object, providing further evidence that matter was composed of atoms.
 * Also in 1905, Einstein proposed the existence of the photon, an elementary particle associated with electromagnetic radiation (light), which was the foundation of quantum theory.
 * In 1907 and again in 1911, Einstein developed the first quantum theory of specific heats by generalizing Planck's law.
 * Between 1907 and 1915, Einstein developed the theory of general relativity, a classical field theory of gravitation that provides the cornerstone for modern astrophysics and cosmology
 * In 1917, Einstein published the idea for the Einstein-Brillouin-Keller method for finding the quantum mechanical version of a classical system.
 * In 1918, Einstein developed a general theory of the process by which atoms emit and absorb electromagnetic radiation (his A and B coefficients), which is the basis of lasers (stimulated emission) and shaped the development of modern quantum electrodynamics, the best-validated physical theory at present.
 * In 1924, together with Satyendra Nath Bose, Einstein developed the theory of Bose-Einstein statistics and Bose-Einstein condensates, which form the basis for superfluidity, superconductivity, and other phenomena.
 * In 1935, together with Boris Podolsky and Nathan Rosen, Einstein put forward what is now known as the EPR paradox, and argued that the quantum-mechanical wave function must be an incomplete description of the physical world.