Obscure 26-year-old patent-clerk Einstein published the papers which would make his name and change the world forevermore in 1905 (he wrote a letter to his friend describing the contents of these papers as "inconsequential babble"). Next year, therefore, will be the hundred-year anniversary of "relativity" - at least, as explained to the world in the formula E=mc2. 2005 has been declared "World Year of Physics", and worldwide celebrations have been planned.
Here's a great article about all of this, entitled "The Patent Clerk's Legacy".
(via the indispensable Arts & Letters Daily)
Posted by sheilaanniversaries are all relative...
Posted by: Mr. Bingley at August 25, 2004 12:01 PMI'm glad they mentioned the Nobel winning paper on Brownian Motion, and that Einstein thought that it was the one revolutionary paper in the bunch. Einstein obviously misjudged other physicists’ definitions of “revolutionary” . His development of quantum mechanics in the Photoelectric Effect paper was pretty revolutionary, too, and was met with dismay even by Physicists who contributed to the advancement of QM (Schrodinger saying: “I don't like it, and I'm sorry I ever had anything to do with it.”).
Most people forget that much of what we take for granted in Physics today as proven was not above critical discussion in 1900. The Brownian motion paper pretty much put the final nail in the coffin of the "Atoms do not really exist" argument. Having cleared that up, physics could go on to more productive disagreements. Since relativity and quantum mechanics are still evolving disciplines, we forget the import of the Brownian Motion paper because no one seriously disputes the existence of atoms today.
Nowadays, of course, us geeks can't hear the words "Brownian Motion" without thinking of the Infinite Improbability Drive, and the unfortunate demise of its inventor for being a smart-ass.
Posted by: John at August 25, 2004 12:38 PMI've always loved that Schrodinger quote ... heh heh heh.
Posted by: red at August 25, 2004 12:39 PMGood quote from a guy who derived his famous equation while on a ski trip with his mistress.
Posted by: John at August 25, 2004 12:55 PMI read somewhere that Einstein almost called the "theory of relativity" the "principle of invariance" (referring to the invariant speed of light) If he had done so, I wonder if we would have had less "everything is relative" nonsense...
Posted by: David Foster at August 26, 2004 12:39 PMInvariably, the nonsense would go on, in some way. Invariably.
Posted by: red at August 26, 2004 12:42 PMProbably...but if you read stuff from the 20s, 30s, 40s, and 50s, there is a lot of "Einstein proved everything was relative, so..." in fields ranging from art to politics.
(Invariant) human craziness would have still gone on, but maybe it would have taken other paths.
Posted by: David Foster at August 26, 2004 03:39 PM