This file contains copies of two papers and a link to a third:

C. Lanczos, The Einstein Decade (1905-1915) (Paul Elek (Scientific Books ) Ltd., London 1971)
pp. 127-129. This is an extract from a work that appears to be in the public domain, and is freely
available at http://archive.org/details/TheEinsteinDecade1905-1915 .

A. Einstein, ber einen die Erzeugung und Verwandlung des Lichtes betreffenden heuristischen
Gesichtspunkt, Annalen der Physik 17, 132 (1905). This work is in the public domain in the
United States of America.

An English translation of Einsteins paper, Heuristic viewpoint concerning the generation and
transformation of light, is available at [Wikisource link] . This work is in the public domain
because it has been so released by the copyright holder.

The subject of these three papers is the photoelectric effect. Cornelius Lanczos , a distinguished
physicist and applied mathematician who served as Albert Einsteins scientific assistant during
1928-1929, writes on p. 125 in the book cited above:

Einsteins original papers, although highly rewarding, offer occasional
difficulties to the reader. It is not so much the omission of computational details
but the brevity of logical formulation which is sometimes puzzling, because
something that appeared completely clear to Einstein, does not appear so to the
reader. In the following pages a succinct summary of every one of Einsteins
scientific papers between the years 1905 and 1915 is given.

We strongly recommend reading Lanczos two-page summary of Einsteins paper. It shows
clearly how Einstein derived the famous equation, E = h, and applied it to three outstanding
problems of experimental physics: Stokes law, the photoelectric effect, and ionization of gases
by ultraviolet light a towering scientific achievement! Perhaps Lanczos summary will inspire
some students to read for themselves at least part of Einsteins paper, and so join the elite group
of those who have read Einsteins great originals, not just accounts of them written by others.

Albert Einstein was awarded the 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics for his services to Theoretical
Physics, and especially for his discovery of the law of the photoelectric effect. His Nobel
Lecture, however, deals with the theory of relativity and does not mention the photoelectric
effect.