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Q: How did einstein develop his theory of relativity? ( Answered 4 out of 5 stars,   10 Comments )
Question  
Subject: How did einstein develop his theory of relativity?
Category: Science > Physics
Asked by: garyking-ga
List Price: $2.00
Posted: 03 Mar 2005 16:51 PST
Expires: 02 Apr 2005 16:51 PST
Question ID: 484330
How did einstein develop his theory of relativity? Wasn't he just a
simple patent clerk? It's not like he was already a university
professor while he was working on the theory of relativity, and the
photoelectric effect (which lead to his Nobel prize.)
Answer  
Subject: Re: How did einstein develop his theory of relativity?
Answered By: hedgie-ga on 10 Mar 2005 23:47 PST
Rated:4 out of 5 stars
 
Greetings Gary

It is not quite clear if you are asking about the thought process and
intellectual environment
(what were then open problems and related work of other physicists)
or about his personal circumstances (why was he working in the patent office) 
so I will give you some references to both.

1) Einstein was not isolated. He had excellent teachers at one of the
better colleges. He chose to attack the most fundamental problems open
at that time (are atoms real?) and the "two clouds" described by
Kelvin in 1900 lecture at  Royal Institution of Great Britain.  The
title of the lecture was Nineteenth-Century Clouds over the Dynamical
Theory of Heat and Light.
  http://www.physics.gla.ac.uk/Physics3/Kelvin_online/clouds.htm
  
  Solving the first problem April 1905 Einstein submitted his doctoral
thesis "A New Determination of Molecular Dimensions" which was
accepted.


2) He was not working as clerk for fun or some  some extra spending
money. He finished his studies, his fathers company was near bankrupt
and he needed a job. He had a hard time getting one. He was already
involved with a fellow student, Mileva Maric, with whom he had first 
child in 1902. His former fellow-student, Marcel Grossmann, told to
his influential father : "He (Einstein) is made from the stuff, from
which geniuses are made"  and Grossman senior pulled some strings and
in 1901 Einstein got position at the Bernese patent-office.
   
 http://www.italysoft.com/curios/einstein/einstein-biography.php
 
  Einstein's early history shows that academia is not always eager to
accept exceptional talent. After all, it requires for some professor
to recommend and  hire someone who ,he knows, will soon, surpass him.
This is illustrated by the following story: When Einstein finally in
1911,  was made full professor at a university in Prague, the
president of the school commented thus on his performance : " We do
not really need a genius for this post, just someone who will file
results of the students exams on time".
  
  Apparently, geniuses are not always easy to work with.
  Often, they are not the 'team players'.
 
 Luckily for us, they are rare :-)
  
  
  There are several good books about his life. 
  This one describes both his life and work:
  http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0195204387/002-9875057-6561630
  
  They make interesting reading
  
  enjoy
  
  Hedgie
garyking-ga rated this answer:4 out of 5 stars

Comments  
Subject: Re: How did einstein develop his theory of relativity?
From: pinkfreud-ga on 03 Mar 2005 16:59 PST
 
This might be helpful:

http://www.wpo.net/astrotales/einstein2.html
Subject: Re: How did einstein develop his theory of relativity?
From: xarqi-ga on 03 Mar 2005 23:47 PST
 
Einstein studied mathematics, particularly calculus, from at least
1891.  By 1900, he was qualified as a teacher of both mathematics and
physics.  It was the lack of a suitable job offer, and the pulling of
strings, that got him his patent office job.  His mind was already
both equipped, and focussed on mathematical physics.  In such an
unchallenging environment, he found his own intellectual stimulation.
Subject: Re: How did einstein develop his theory of relativity?
From: iang-ga on 04 Mar 2005 01:07 PST
 
Like any scientist, Einstein was able to build on the work of others -
Lorentz and Fitzgerald for instance.  His maths teacher, Hermann
Minkowsi, described him as a "lazy dog" because he wasn't a very good
student, and his lack of knowledge of modern maths probably slowed him
down when he was developing General Relativity.  Fortunately his
friend, Erwin Freundlich, was able to tell him which areas to look
into and acted as a sounding board as Einstein was developing his
theory.  Some people view Frendlich as a collaborator in developing
GR, though Freundlich himself always denied it.

Ian G.
Subject: Re: How did einstein develop his theory of relativity?
From: guzzi-ga on 04 Mar 2005 16:52 PST
 
Like Maxwell and a good bunch of others, Einstein developed his theory
of relativity mainly by thinking very hard. Granted he was better
equipped to think than most of us, but apart from flashes of clarity
most theory derives from a very little external sign of activity but a
lot going on inside. Sometimes in my profession, one is pointedly
asked.
?Are you actually doing anything or are you just sitting there with
your feet on the desk??
?Thinking.?
?Oh that?s all right then.?

Best
Subject: Re: How did einstein develop his theory of relativity?
From: wyop2005uc-ga on 05 Mar 2005 18:11 PST
 
Einstein was basically just working as a pattent cleark for some extra
spending money after finishing up his graduate degree in Bern. In 1905
he remarkably published five papers, providing groundbreaking insight
into diverse areas of physics. He received his first faculty position
soon afterwords. For more information see :

http://www.physics2005.org/
Subject: Re: How did einstein develop his theory of relativity?
From: eliteskillsdotcom-ga on 06 Mar 2005 11:44 PST
 
Although this is not the theory of relativity, it is an interesting
question about the derivation of e=mc^2

http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=477866
Subject: Re: How did einstein develop his theory of relativity?
From: deeptimer-ga on 09 Mar 2005 15:23 PST
 
Einstein developed his theory of relativity by being largely isolated
from mainsteam thinkers (and their sociological need to be accepted by
their peers and institutions) and by following his own inner intuition
and innate brillince.  I refer to the difference between being merely
an expert, and being a true genius.
Subject: Re: How did einstein develop his theory of relativity?
From: sarotoka-ga on 31 May 2005 02:16 PDT
 
Ha ha... this answers my question. no paying for me.
Subject: Re: How did einstein develop his theory of relativity?
From: hedgie-ga on 02 Jun 2005 16:02 PDT
 
Saratoka,

 I am pleased that you found my answer useful. 
 Company makes answered question available, as a public resource
-- like -- 'giving something back to community'  
 or -- 'betterment of mankind' ...
BTW -- which planet are you from?

Hedgie
Subject: Re: How did einstein develop his theory of relativity?
From: johnman-ga on 07 Jun 2005 18:10 PDT
 
Although Einstein was at the top of his class in graduate studies, he
had difficulty finding teaching jobs mainly because he had antagonized
most of the physics establishment by his attitude. He would openly
challenge their cherished theories, skip class ( and still do well),
and generally subscribed to a bohemian lifestlyle which the physics
establishment frowned upon. After his graduation, he did some private
tutoring before landing the job at the patent office. He took that job
because it gave him free time to work on his theories. Apparantly he
once said, " You should be a little under-employed if you want to do
great things in life"

abby k

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