Albert Einstein

An accesible version of Einstein's masterpiece of theory, written by the genius himself According to Einstein himself, this book is intended "to give an exact insight into the theory of Relativity to those readers who, from a general scientific and philosophical point of view, are interested in the theory, but who are not conversant with the mathematical apparatus of theoretical physics." When he wrote the book in 1916, Einstein's name was scarcely known outside the physics institutes. Having just completed his masterpiece, The General Theory of Relativity--which provided a brand-new theory of gravity and promised a new perspective on the cosmos as a whole--he set out at once to share his excitement with as wide a public as possible in this popular and accessible book. Here published for the first time as a Penguin Classic, this edition of Relativity features a new introduction by bestselling science author Nigel Calder. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

After 1905, Einstein's miraculous year, physics would never be the same again. In those twelve months, Einstein shattered many cherished scientific beliefs with five extraordinary papers that would establish him as the world's leading physicist. This book brings those papers together in an accessible format. The best-known papers are the two that founded special relativity: On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies and Does the Inertia of a Body Depend on Its Energy Content? In the former, Einstein showed that absolute time had to be replaced by a new absolute: the speed of light. In the second, he asserted the equivalence of mass and energy, which would lead to the famous formula E = mc2 . The book also includes On a Heuristic Point of View Concerning the Production and Transformation of Light, in which Einstein challenged the wave theory of light, suggesting that light could also be regarded as a collection of particles. This helped to open the door to a whole new world--that of quantum physics. For ideas in this paper, he won the Nobel Prize in 1921. The fourth paper also led to a Nobel Prize, although for another scientist, Jean Perrin. On the Movement of Small Particles Suspended in Stationary Liquids Required by the Molecular-Kinetic Theory of Heat concerns the Brownian motion of such particles. With profound insight, Einstein blended ideas from kinetic theory and classical hydrodynamics to derive an equation for the mean free path of such particles as a function of the time, which Perrin confirmed experimentally. The fifth paper, A New Determination of Molecular Dimensions, was Einstein's doctoral dissertation, and remains among his most cited articles. It shows how to calculate Avogadro's number and the size of molecules. These papers, presented in a modern English translation, are essential reading for any physicist, mathematician, or astrophysicist. Far more than just a collection of scientific articles, this book presents work that is among the high points of human achievement and marks a watershed in the history of science. Coinciding with the 100th anniversary of the miraculous year, this new paperback edition includes an introduction by John Stachel, which focuses on the personal aspects of Einstein's youth that facilitated and led up to the miraculous year.

Robert Geroch builds on Einstein's work with commentary that addresses the ideas at the heart of the theory, bringing a modern understanding of relativity to the text. He elucidates how special relativity is a reconciliation of the contradictions between the nature of light and the principle of relativity; he expands on Einstein's treatment of the geometry of space-time and the fundamental notion of an "event"; he explains in detail, but without technical language, the equivalence of inertial and gravitational mass, a cornerstone of general relativity.

"Die Welt ist zu klein für jenen Patriotismus, der zu Kriegen führt. Patriotismus ist nicht einmal mehr in Friedenszeiten nützlich. Die Probleme unserer Welt sind planetarisch. Keine Nation ist ihnen allein gewachsen."

The present volume, set in the turbulent post-World War I period, finds Einstein awaiting news of the 1919 British eclipse expedition to test the general relativistic prediction of the deflection of starlight by the sun. With the expedition's success, he becomes the first science celebrity of our age. Deeply interested in the other, stellar redshift test of his theory, Einstein supports astronomers engaged in experimental work on the issue. Piqued by early suggestions of a unified field theory, he ponders how to unify gravitation and electromagnetic field theory and also works to resolve contradictions between the new quantum physics and relativity. His open-minded exchanges with colleagues may challenge his later image as the stubborn critic of quantum mechanics. We see Einstein deeply engaged in discussing social and political issues, participating in humanitarian efforts, and intervening on behalf of intellectuals condemned to death after the fall of the Bavarian Soviet republic. He faced anti-Semitic outbursts, reflected increasingly on his own identity as a Jew and assisted in efforts toward the establishment of the Hebrew University. As an internationalist opponent of war, and a German-speaking Swiss citizen whose renown was sealed by the Englishman Eddington's confirmation of relativity, Einstein mitigated postwar hostility toward German scholars. Correspondence with family and friends documents his divorce, remarriage to his cousin, and his closeness to his two sons. Notwithstanding evidence in newly uncovered material concerning efforts to lure Einstein back to Switzerland, and also to the Netherlands, Einstein, entertaining high hopes for the young Weimar Republic, remained in Berlin. This volume reveals new facets of Einstein as he constructively participated in German and European scientific, academic, and cultural life. Since this translation includes only select portions of Volume 9, it is not recommended for purchase without the main volume.

The present volume, set in the turbulent post-World War I period, finds Einstein awaiting news of the 1919 British eclipse expedition to test the general relativistic prediction of the deflection of starlight by the sun. With the expedition's success, he becomes the first science celebrity of our age. Deeply interested in the other, stellar redshift test of his theory, Einstein supports astronomers engaged in experimental work on the issue. Piqued by early suggestions of a unified field theory, he ponders how to unify gravitation and electromagnetic field theory and also works to resolve contradictions between the new quantum physics and relativity. His open-minded exchanges with colleagues may challenge his later image as the stubborn critic of quantum mechanics. We see Einstein deeply engaged in discussing social and political issues, participating in humanitarian efforts, and intervening on behalf of intellectuals condemned to death after the fall of the Bavarian Soviet republic. He faced anti-Semitic outbursts, reflected increasingly on his own identity as a Jew and assisted in efforts toward the establishment of the Hebrew University. As an internationalist opponent of war, and a German-speaking Swiss citizen whose renown was sealed by the Englishman Eddington's confirmation of relativity, Einstein mitigated postwar hostility toward German scholars. Correspondence with family and friends documents his divorce, remarriage to his cousin, and his closeness to his two sons. Notwithstanding evidence in newly uncovered material concerning efforts to lure Einstein back to Switzerland, and also to the Netherlands, Einstein, entertaining high hopes for the young Weimar Republic, remained in Berlin. This volume reveals new facets of Einstein as he constructively participated in German and European scientific, academic, and cultural life.

Albert Einstein's "Relativity: The Special and the General Theory" (1920) is a cornerstone of modern physics. Einstein intended this book for 'those readers who, from a general scientific and philosophical point of view, are interested in the theory, but who are not conversant with the mathematical apparatus'. Indeed, within the vast literature on the philosophy of space and time, Einstein's "Relativity" shall remain an illuminable and intelligible exposition, highly quotable as one of the most lucid presentations of the subject matter and a launching pad for any further inquiry on the fascinating features of our universe.

The world would be a very different place if it were not for Albert Einstein. Like Newton and Galileo before him, this remarkable scientist changed forever mankind's understanding of the universe. In 1921, five years after proclaiming his general theory of relativity, Einstein was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics in recognition of his remarkable achievements. In the same year he travelled to the United States to give four lectures that consolidated his theory and sought to explain its meaning to a new audience. These lectures were published the following year as The Meaning of Relativity, which he revised with each new edition until his death. It remains a key work for anyone wishing to discover at first hand the workings of one of the most inspiring minds of the twentieth century.

In the spring of 1919, two British solar eclipse expeditions confirmed the correctness of general relativity theory and propelled Albert Einstein to instant celebrity. Before this major turning point, the majority of Einstein's writings published in this volume dealt with the clarification of general relativistic problems, such as the status of the metric field, the character of gravitational waves, the problem of energy-momentum conservation, and questions of cosmology, such as the nature and size of the universe and the distribution of matter within it. After his rise to international fame, Einstein's publications changed markedly. He faced an increasing demand for popular articles and lectures on relativity, its development and meaning. He also felt compelled to respond to a host of commentators, ranging from skeptical physicists to philosophers trying to reconcile his revolutionary theory with their views. For the first time, he also responded in print to outspoken anti-relativists, some of them fueled by cultural conservatism and, frequently, anti-Semitism. Einstein used his newly won fame to lend prestige to political causes, especially to the reconciliation among European nations and to Zionism. In the early years of Weimar Germany, Einstein spoke out vigorously for the young republic, emphasizing the rights of the individual. He agonized over the misery of the Central Europeans in the grip of starvation and economic collapse, praised the support of individuals and groups such as the Quakers, and championed the cause of Eastern European Jews. His rejection of assimilation, combined with a fierce defense of the right of Jews to higher education, led Einstein to campaign for the establishment of a university in Palestine, the land which he conceived of as a cultural center for all Jews. Since this supplementary paperback includes only select portions of Volume 7, it is not recommended for purchase without the main volume.

In the spring of 1919, two British solar eclipse expeditions confirmed the correctness of general relativity theory and propelled Albert Einstein to instant celebrity. Before this major turning point, the majority of Einstein's writings published in this volume dealt with the clarification of general relativistic problems, such as the status of the metric field, the character of gravitational waves, the problem of energy-momentum conservation, and questions of cosmology, such as the nature and size of the universe and the distribution of matter within it. After his rise to international fame, Einstein's publications changed markedly. He faced an increasing demand for popular articles and lectures on relativity, its development and meaning. He also felt compelled to respond to a host of commentators, ranging from skeptical physicists to philosophers trying to reconcile his revolutionary theory with their views. For the first time, he also responded in print to outspoken anti-relativists, some of them fueled by cultural conservatism and, frequently, anti-Semitism. Einstein used his newly won fame to lend prestige to political causes, especially to the reconciliation among European nations and to Zionism. In the early years of Weimar Germany, Einstein spoke out vigorously for the young republic, emphasizing the rights of the individual. He agonized over the misery of the Central Europeans in the grip of starvation and economic collapse, praised the support of individuals and groups such as the Quakers, and championed the cause of Eastern European Jews. His rejection of assimilation, combined with a fierce defense of the right of Jews to higher education, led Einstein to campaign for the establishment of a university in Palestine, the land which he conceived of as a cultural center for all Jews.

Galileo’s Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems, published in Florence in 1632, was the most proximate cause of his being brought to trial before the Inquisition. Using the dialogue form, a genre common in classical philosophical works, Galileo masterfully demonstrates the truth of the Copernican system over the Ptolemaic one, proving, for the first time, that the earth revolves around the sun. Its influence is incalculable. The Dialogue is not only one of the most important scientific treatises ever written, but a work of supreme clarity and accessibility, remaining as readable now as when it was first published. This edition uses the definitive text established by the University of California Press, in Stillman Drake’s translation, and includes a Foreword by Albert Einstein and a new Introduction by J. L. Heilbron.

Time's 'Man of the Century', Albert Einstein is the unquestioned founder of modern physics. His theory of relativity is the most important scientific idea of the modern era. In this short book Einstein explains, using the minimum of mathematical terms, the basic ideas and principles of the theory which has shaped the world we live in today. Unsurpassed by any subsequent books on relativity, this remains the most popular and useful exposition of Einstein's immense contribution to human knowledge.

Time's 'Man of the Century', Albert Einstein is the unquestioned founder of modern physics. His theory of relativity is the most important scientific idea of the modern era. In this short book Einstein explains, using the minimum of mathematical terms, the basic ideas and principles of the theory which has shaped the world we live in today. Unsurpassed by any subsequent books on relativity, this remains the most popular and useful exposition of Einstein's immense contribution to human knowledge.

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In 1903, despite the vehement objections of his parents, Albert Einstein married Mileva Maric, the companion, colleague, and confidante whose influence on his most creative years has given rise to much speculation. Beginning in 1897, after Einstein and Maric met as students at the Swiss Federal Polytechnic, and ending shortly after their marriage, these fifty-four love letters offer a rare glimpse into Einstein's relationship with his first wife while shedding light on his intellectual development in the period before the annus mirabilis of 1905. Unlike the picture of Einstein the lone, isolated thinker of Princeton, he appears here both as the burgeoning enfant terrible of science and as an amorous young man beset, along with his fiance, by financial and personal struggles--among them the illegitimate birth of their daughter, whose existence is known only by these letters. Describing his conflicts with professors and other scientists, his arguments with his mother over Maric, and his difficulty obtaining an academic position after graduation, the letters enable us to reconstruct the youthful Einstein with an unprecedented immediacy. His love for Maric, whom he describes as "a creature who is my equal, and who is as strong and independent as I am," brings forth his serious as well as playful, often theatrical nature. After their marriage, however, Maric becomes less his intellectual companion, and, failing to acquire a teaching certificate, she subordinates her professional goals to his. In the final letters Einstein has obtained a position at the Swiss Patent Office and mentions their daughter one last time to his wife in Hungary, where she is assumed to have placed the girl in the care of relatives. Informative, entertaining, and often very moving, this collection of letters captures for scientists and general readers alike a little known yet crucial period in Einstein's life.

Here are the 11 papers that forged the general and special theories of relativity: seven papers by Einstein, plus two papers by Lorentz and one each by Minkowski and Weyl. "A thrill to read again the original papers by these giants." — School Science and Mathematics. 1923 edition.

This brief work is the closest Einstein ever came to writing an autobiography. Although a very personal account, it is purely concerned with the development of his ideas, saying little about his private life or about the world-shaking events through which he lived. Starting from little Albert's early disillusionment with religion and his intense fascination with geometry, the narrative presents Einstein's "epistemological credo", then moves through his dissatisfaction with the foundations of Newtonian physics to the development of his own special and general theories of relativity and his opposition to some of the assumptions of quantum theory.