Albert Einstein

Born

14 March 1879 Ulm, Kingdom of Wrttemberg,German Empire

Died

18 April 19

!aged 7"#

$rinceton, %e& 'er(e), United *tate( Residence Citizenship German), +tal), *&it,erland, A-(tria, .elgi-m, United *tate( Kingdom of Wrttemberg !1879/189"# *tatele(( !189"/1901# *&it,erland !1901/19 #

A-(tria/1-ngar) !1911/1912# German Empire !1914/1918# Weimar 3ep-blic !1919/1944# United *tate( !1940/19 Fields $h)(ic( #

Institutions

*&i(( $atent 5ffice !.ern# Uni6er(it) of 7-rich 8harle( Uni6er(it) in $rag-e E91 7-rich 8altech $r-((ian Academ) of *cience( Kai(er Wilhelm +n(tit-te Uni6er(it) of :eiden +n(tit-te for Ad6anced *t-d)

Alma mater

E91 7-rich Uni6er(it) of 7-rich

Known for

General relati6it) and (pecial relati6it) $hotoelectric effect Ma((;energ) e<-i6alence 9heor) of .ro&nian Motion Ein(tein field e<-ation( .o(e/Ein(tein (tati(tic( .o(e;Ein(tein conden(ate .o(e/Ein(tein correlation( Unified =ield 9heor) E$3 parado>

Notable awards

%obel $ri,e in $h)(ic( !1921# Matte-cci Medal !1921# 8ople) Medal !192 #?2@ Ma> $lancA Medal !1929#

Time $er(on of the 8ent-r) !1999# Children B:ie(erlB !1902/1904C# 1an( Albert !1904/1974# Ed-ard B9eteB !1910/19" # Signature

Albert Einstein was a German-born theoretical physicist. He developed the general theory of relativity, one of the two pillars of modern physics (alongside quantum mechanics). While best nown for his mass!energy equivalence formula E " mc# (which has been dubbed $the world%s most famous equation$), he received the &'#& (obel )ri*e in )hysics $for his services to theoretical physics, and especially for his discovery of the law of the photoelectric effect$. +he latter was pivotal in establishing quantum theory. (ear the beginning of his career, ,instein thought that (ewtonian mechanics was no longer enough to reconcile the laws of classical mechanics with the laws of the electromagnetic field. +his led to the development of his special theory of relativity. He reali*ed, however, that the principle of relativity could also be e-tended to gravitational fields, and with his subsequent theory of gravitation in &'&., he published a paper on the general theory of relativity. He continued to deal with problems of statistical mechanics and quantum theory, which led to his e-planations of particle theory and the motion of molecules. He also investigated the thermal properties of light which laid the foundation of the photon theory of light. /n &'&0, ,instein applied the general theory of relativity to model the large-scale structure of the universe. He was visiting the 1nited 2tates when 3dolf Hitler came to power in &'44 and did not go bac to Germany, where he had been a professor at the 5erlin 3cademy of 2ciences. He settled in the 1.2., becoming an 3merican citi*en in &'67. 8n the eve of World War //, he endorsed a letter to )resident 9ran lin :. ;oosevelt alerting him to the potential development of $e-tremely powerful bombs of a new type$ and recommending that the 1.2. begin similar research. +his eventually led to what would become the <anhattan )ro=ect. ,instein supported defending the 3llied forces, but largely denounced using the new discovery of nuclear fission as a weapon. >ater, with the 5ritish philosopher 5ertrand ;ussell, ,instein signed the ;ussell!,instein <anifesto, which highlighted the danger of nuclear weapons. ,instein was affiliated with the /nstitute for 3dvanced 2tudy in )rinceton, (ew ?ersey, until his death in &'@@. ,instein published more than 477 scientific papers along with over &@7 non-scientific wor s. His great intellectual achievements and originality have made the word $,instein$ synonymous with genius.

Early life and education

,instein at the age of three in &AA#

3lbert ,instein in &A'4 (age &6)

,instein%s matriculation certificate at the age of &0, showing his final grades from the 3argau Bantonsschule (on a scale of &-., with . being the best mar ). 3lbert ,instein was born in 1lm, in the Bingdom of WCrttemberg in the German ,mpire on &6 <arch &A0'. His father was Hermann ,instein, a salesman and engineer. His mother was )auline ,instein (nDe Boch). /n &AA7, the family moved to <unich, where his father and his uncle founded Elektrotechnische Fabrik J. Einstein & Cie, a company that manufactured electrical equipment based on direct current. +he ,insteins were non-observant ?ews. 3lbert attended a Eatholic elementary school from the age of five for three years. 3t the age of eight, he was transferred to the >uitpold Gymnasium (now nown as the 3lbert ,instein Gymnasium) where he received advanced primary and secondary school education until he left Germany seven years later. Eontrary to popular suggestions that he had struggled with early speech difficulties, the 3lbert ,instein 3rchives indicate he e-celled at the first school that he attended. He was right-handedF there appears to be no evidence for the widespread popular belief that he was left-handed. His father once showed him a poc et compassF ,instein reali*ed that there must be something causing the needle to move, despite the apparent $empty space$. 3s he grew, ,instein built models and mechanical devices for fun and began to show a talent for mathematics. When ,instein was ten years old, <a- +almud (later changed to<a- +almey), a poor ?ewish medical student from )oland, was introduced to the ,instein family by his brother. :uring wee ly visits over the ne-t five years, he gave the boy popular boo s on science, mathematical te-ts and philosophical writings. +hese included /mmanuel Bant%s Critique of Pure Reason, and Euclid's Elements (which ,instein called the $holy little geometry boo $). /n &A'6, his father%s company failedG direct current (:E) lost the War of Eurrents to alternating current (3E). /n search of business, the ,instein family moved to /taly, first to<ilan and then, a

few months later, to )avia. When the family moved to )avia, ,instein stayed in <unich to finish his studies at the >uitpold Gymnasium. His father intended for him to pursue electrical engineering, but ,instein clashed with authorities and resented the school%s regimen and teaching method. He later wrote that the spirit of learning and creative thought were lost in strict rote learning. 3t the end of :ecember &A'6, he travelled to /taly to =oin his family in )avia, convincing the school to let him go by using a doctor%s note. /t was during his time in /taly that he wrote a short essay with the title $8n the /nvestigation of the 2tate of the ,ther in a <agnetic 9ield.$ /n &A'@, at the age of si-teen, ,instein sat the entrance e-aminations for the 2wiss 9ederal )olytechnic in Hurich (later the ,idgenIssische +echnische Hochschule ,+H). He failed to reach the required standard in the general part of the e-amination, but obtained e-ceptional grades in physics and mathematics. 8n the advice of the )rincipal of the )olytechnic, he attended the 3argau Eantonal 2chool in 3arau, 2wit*erland, in &A'@!'. to complete his secondary schooling. While lodging with the family of )rofessor ?ost Winteler, he fell in love with Winteler%s daughter, <arie. (3lbert%s sister <a=a later married Wintelers% son )aul.) /n ?anuary &A'., with his father%s approval, he renounced his citi*enship in the German Bingdom of WCrttemberg to avoid military service. /n 2eptember &A'., he passed the 2wiss <atura with mostly good grades, including a top grade of . in physics and mathematical sub=ects, on a scale of &-., and, though only seventeen, enrolled in the four-year mathematics and physics teaching diploma program at the Hurich )olytechnic. <arie Winteler moved to 8lsberg, 2wit*erland for a teaching post. ,instein%s future wife, <ileva <ariJ, also enrolled at the )olytechnic that same year, the only woman among the si- students in the mathematics and physics section of the teaching diploma course. 8ver the ne-t few years, ,instein and <ariJ%s friendship developed into romance, and they read boo s together on e-tra-curricular physics in which ,instein was ta ing an increasing interest. /n &'77, ,instein was awarded the Hurich )olytechnic teaching diploma, but <ariJ failed the e-amination with a poor grade in the mathematics component, theory of functions. +here have been claims that <ariJ collaborated with ,instein on his celebrated &'7@ papers, but historians of physics who have studied the issue find no evidence that she made any substantive contributions. 3fter graduating, ,instein spent almost two frustrating years searching for a teaching post. He acquired 2wiss citi*enship in 9ebruary &'7&, but was not conscripted for medical reasons. With the help of <arcel Grossmann%s father ,instein secured a =ob in 5ern at the 9ederal 8ffice for /ntellectual )roperty, the patent office, as an assistant e-aminer. He evaluated patent applications for electromagnetic devices. /n &'74, ,instein%s position at the 2wiss )atent 8ffice became permanent, although he was passed over for promotion until he $fully mastered machine technology$. <uch of his wor at the patent office related to questions about transmission of electric signals and electrical-mechanical synchroni*ation of time, two technical problems that show up

conspicuously in the thought e-periments that eventually led ,instein to his radical conclusions about the nature of light and the fundamental connection between space and time. With a few friends he met in 5ern, ,instein started a small discussion group, self-moc ingly named $+he 8lympia 3cademy$, which met regularly to discuss science and philosophy. +heir readings included the wor s of Henri )oincarD, ,rnst <ach, and :avid Hume, which influenced his scientific and philosophical outloo . Academic career

,instein%s official &'#& portrait after receiving the (obel )ri*e in )hysics. /n &'7&, his paper $9olgerungen aus den EapillaritKtserscheinungen$ ($Eonclusions from the Eapillarity )henomena$) was published in the prestigious Annalen der Physik. 8n 47 3pril &'7@, ,instein completed his thesis, with 3lfred Bleiner, )rofessor of ,-perimental )hysics, serving as pro forma advisor. ,instein was awarded a )h: by the 1niversity of Hurich. His dissertation was entitled $3 (ew :etermination of <olecular :imensions.$ +his paper included ,instein%s initial estimates of 3vogadro constant as #.#L&7#4 based on diffusion coefficients and viscosities of sugar solutions in water. +hat same year, which has been called ,instein%s annus mirabilis (miracle year), he published four groundbrea ing papers, on the photoelectric effect, 5rownian motion, special relativity, and the equivalence of mass and energy, which were to bring him to the notice of the academic world. 5y &'7A, he was recogni*ed as a leading scientist, and he was appointed lecturer at the 1niversity of 5ern. +he following year, he quit the patent office and the lectureship to ta e the position of physics docent at the 1niversity of Hurich. He became a full professor at Eharles9erdinand 1niversity in )rague in &'&&. 3lso in &'&&, corrections of algebraic errors in his

thesis brought ,instein%s 3vogadro constant estimate to ...L&7#4. /n &'&6, he returned to Germany after being appointed director of the Baiser Wilhelm /nstitute for )hysics (&'&6! &'4#) and a professor at the Humboldt 1niversity of 5erlin, with a special clause in his contract that freed him from most teaching obligations. He became a member of the )russian 3cademy of 2ciences. /n &'&., ,instein was appointed president of the German )hysical 2ociety (&'&.! &'&A). :uring &'&&, he had calculated that, based on his new theory of general relativity, light from another star would be bent by the 2un%s gravity. +hat prediction was claimed confirmed by observations made by a 5ritish e-pedition led by 2ir 3rthur ,ddington during the solar eclipse of #' <ay &'&'. /nternational media reports of this made ,instein world famous. 8n 0 (ovember &'&', the leading 5ritish newspaper !he !imes printed a banner headline that readG $;evolution in 2cience ! (ew +heory of the 1niverse ! (ewtonian /deas 8verthrown$. <uch later, questions were raised whether the measurements had been accurate enough to support ,instein%s theory. /n &'A7 historians ?ohn ,arman and Elar Glymour published an analysis suggesting that ,ddington had suppressed unfavorable results. +he two reviewers found possible flaws in ,ddington%s selection of data, but their doubts, although widely quoted and, indeed, now with a $mythical$ status almost equivalent to the status of the original observations, have not been confirmed. ,ddington%s selection from the data seems valid and his team indeed made astronomical measurements verifying the theory. /n &'#&, ,instein was awarded the (obel )ri*e in )hysics for his e-planation of the photoelectric effect, as relativity was considered still somewhat controversial. He also received the Eopley <edal from the ;oyal 2ociety in &'#@.

Travels abroad

,instein in (ew Mor , &'#&, his first visit to the 1nited 2tates

,instein visited (ew Mor Eity for the first time on # 3pril &'#&, where he received an official welcome by <ayor ?ohn 9rancis Hylan, followed by three wee s of lectures and receptions. He went on to deliver several lectures at Eolumbia 1niversity and )rinceton 1niversity, and in Washington he accompanied representatives of the (ational 3cademy of 2cience on a visit to the White House. 8n his return to ,urope he was the guest of the 5ritish statesman and philosopher Niscount Haldane in >ondon, where he met several renowned scientific, intellectual and political figures, and delivered a lecture at Bing%s Eollege. /n &'##, he traveled throughout 3sia and later to )alestine, as part of a si--month e-cursion and spea ing tour. His travels included 2ingapore, Eeylon, and ?apan, where he gave a series of lectures to thousands of ?apanese. His first lecture in +o yo lasted four hours, after which he met the emperor and empress at the /mperial )alace where thousands came to watch. ,instein later gave his impressions of the ?apanese in a letter to his sonsG $8f all the people / have met, / li e the ?apanese most, as they are modest, intelligent, considerate, and have a feel for art.$ 8n his return voyage, he also visited )alestine for &# days in what would become his only visit to that region. $He was greeted with great 5ritish pomp, as if he were a head of state rather than a theoretical physicist$, writes /saacson. +his included a cannon salute upon his arrival at the residence of the 5ritish high commissioner, 2ir Herbert 2amuel. :uring one reception given to him, the building was $stormed by throngs who wanted to hear him$. /n ,instein%s tal to the audience, he e-pressed his happiness over the eventG / consider this the greatest day of my life. 5efore, / have always found something to regret in the ?ewish soul, and that is the forgetfulness of its own people. +oday, / have been made happy by the sight of the ?ewish people learning to recogni*e themselves and to ma e themselves recogni*ed as a force in the world.

Emigration to U.S. in 1933

Eartoon of ,instein, who has shed his $)acifism$ wings, standing ne-t to a pillar labeled $World )eace.$ He is rolling up his sleeves and holding a sword labeled $)reparedness$ (circa &'44). /n 9ebruary &'44 while on a visit to the 1nited 2tates, ,instein decided not to return to Germany due to the rise to power of the (a*is under Germany%s new chancellor, 3dolf Hitler. He visited 3merican universities in early &'44 where he undertoo his third two-month visiting professorship at the Ealifornia /nstitute of +echnology in )asadena. He and his wife ,lsa returned by ship to 5elgium at the end of <arch. :uring the voyage they were informed that their cottage was raided by the (a*is and his personal sailboat had been confiscated. 1pon landing in 3ntwerp on #A <arch, he immediately went to the German consulate where he turned in his passport and formally renounced his German citi*enship. 3 few years later, the (a*is sold his boat and turned his cottage into an 3ryan youth camp. /n early 3pril &'44, he learned that the new German government had passed laws barring ?ews from holding any official positions, including teaching at universities. 3 month later, ,instein%s wor s were among those targeted by (a*i boo burnings, and (a*i propaganda minister ?oseph Goebbels proclaimed, $?ewish intellectualism is dead.$ ,instein also learned that his name was on a list of assassination targets, with a $O@,777 bounty on his head.$ 8ne German maga*ine included him in a list of enemies of the German regime with the phrase, $not yet hanged$. He resided in 5elgium for some months, before temporarily living in ,ngland. /n a letter to his friend, physicist <a- 5orn, who also emigrated from Germany and lived in ,ngland, ,instein wrote, $... / must confess that the degree of their brutality and cowardice came as something of a surprise.$

)ortrait ta en in &'4@ in )rinceton

/n 8ctober &'44 he returned to the 1.2. and too up a position at the /nstitute for 3dvanced 2tudy (in )rinceton, (ew ?ersey), that required his presence for si- months each year. He was still undecided on his future (he had offers from ,uropean universities, including 8-ford), but in &'4@ he arrived at the decision to remain permanently in the 1nited 2tates and apply for citi*enship. His affiliation with the /nstitute for 3dvanced 2tudy would last until his death in &'@@. He was one of the four first selected (two of the others being ?ohn von (eumann and Burt GIdel) at the new /nstitute, where he soon developed a close friendship with GIdel. +he two would ta e long wal s together discussing their wor . His last assistant was 5ruria Baufman, who later became a physicist. :uring this period, ,instein tried to develop a unified field theory and to refute the accepted interpretation of quantum physics, both unsuccessfully. 8ther scientists also fled to 3merica. 3mong them were (obel laureates and professors of theoretical physics. With so many other ?ewish scientists now forced by circumstances to live in 3merica, often wor ing side by side, ,instein wrote to a friend, $9or me the most beautiful thing is to be in contact with a few fine ?ewsPa few millennia of a civili*ed past do mean something after all.$ /n another letter he writes, $/n my whole life / have never felt so ?ewish as now.$

US citizenship

,instein accepting 1.2. citi*enship certificate from =udge )hillip 9orman ,instein became an 3merican citi*en in &'67. (ot long after settling into his career at the /nstitute for 3dvanced 2tudy (in )rinceton, (ew ?ersey), he e-pressed his appreciation of the $meritocracy$ in 3merican culture when compared to ,urope. 3ccording to /saacson, he recogni*ed the $right of individuals to say and thin what they pleased$, without social barriers,

and as a result, the individual was $encouraged$ to be more creative, a trait he valued from his own early education. ,instein writesG What ma es the new arrival devoted to this country is the democratic trait among the people. (o one humbles himself before another person or class ... 3merican youth has the good fortune not to have its outloo troubled by outworn traditions. 3s a member of the (ational 3ssociation for the 3dvancement of Eolored )eople ((33E)) in )rinceton who campaigned for the civil rights of 3frican 3mericans, ,instein corresponded with civil rights activist W. ,. 5. :u 5ois, and in &'6. ,instein called racism 3merica%s $worst disease$. He later stated, $;ace pre=udice has unfortunately become an 3merican tradition which is uncritically handed down from one generation to the ne-t. +he only remedies are enlightenment and education$.

,instein in &'60 :uring the final stage of his life, ,instein transitioned to a vegetarian lifestyle, arguing that $the vegetarian manner of living by its purely physical effect on the human temperament would most beneficially influence the lot of man ind$. 3fter the death of /srael%s first president, Ehaim Wei*mann, in (ovember &'@#, )rime <inister :avid 5en-Gurion offered ,instein the position of )resident of /srael, a mostly ceremonial post. +he offer was presented by /srael%s ambassador in Washington, 3bba ,ban, who e-plained that the offer $embodies the deepest respect which the ?ewish people can repose in any of its sons$. However, ,instein declined, and wrote in his response that he was $deeply moved$, and $at once saddened and ashamed$ that he could not accept itG

3ll my life / have dealt with ob=ective matters, hence / lac both the natural aptitude and the e-perience to deal properly with people and to e-ercise official function. / am the more distressed over these circumstances because my relationship with the ?ewish people became my strongest human tie once / achieved complete clarity about our precarious position among the nations of the world.

eath

3merican "e# $ork %orld !ele&ram announcing ,instein%s death in &'@@. 8n &0 3pril &'@@, 3lbert ,instein e-perienced internal bleeding caused by the rupture of an abdominal aortic aneurysm, which had previously been reinforced surgically by :r. ;udolph (issen in &'6A. He too the draft of a speech he was preparing for a television appearance commemorating the 2tate of /srael%s seventh anniversary with him to the hospital, but he did not live long enough to complete it. ,instein refused surgery, sayingG $/ want to go when / want. /t is tasteless to prolong life artificially. / have done my share, it is time to go. / will do it elegantly.$ He died in )rinceton Hospital early the ne-t morning at the age of 0., having continued to wor until near the end. :uring the autopsy, the pathologist of )rinceton Hospital, +homas 2tolt* Harvey, removed ,instein%s brain for preservation without the permission of his family, in the hope that the neuroscience of the future would be able to discover what made ,instein so intelligent. ,instein%s remains were cremated and his ashes were scattered at an undisclosed location.

/n his lecture at ,instein%s memorial, nuclear physicist ;obert 8ppenheimer summari*ed his impression of him as a personG $He was almost wholly without sophistication and wholly without worldliness ... +here was always with him a wonderful purity at once childli e and profoundly stubborn.$

Scientific career

3lbert ,instein in &'76

+he photoelectric effect. /ncoming photons on the left stri e a metal plate (bottom), and e=ect electrons, depicted as flying off to the right.

+hroughout his life, ,instein published hundreds of boo s and articles. /n addition to the wor he did by himself he also collaborated with other scientists on additional pro=ects including the 5ose!,instein statistics, the ,instein refrigerator and others. 19!" # Annus $irabilis papers % 'ain articles( Annus 'irabilis papers) Photoelectric effect) *pecial theory of relati+ity) 'ass, ener&y equi+alence) and -ro#nian motion +he Annus 'irabilis papers are four articles pertaining to the photoelectric effect (which gave rise to quantum theory), 5rownian motion, the special theory of relativity, and , " mc# that 3lbert ,instein published in the Annalen der Physik scientific =ournal in &'7@. +hese four wor s contributed substantially to the foundation of modern physics and changed views on space, time, and matter. +he four papers areG Title &translated' Area of focus (eceived )ublished Significance

.n a /euristic 0ie#point Concernin& )hotoelectric &A <arch the Production and effect !ransformation of 1i&ht

' ?une

;esolved an unsolved pu**le by suggesting that energy is e-changed only in discrete amounts (quanta). +his idea was pivotal to the early development of quantum theory.

.n the 'otion of *mall Particles *uspended in a *tationary 1iquid) as Required by the 'olecular 2inetic !heory of /eat

5rownian motion

&& <ay

,-plained empirical evidence for &A ?uly the atomic theory, supporting the application of statistical physics.

.n the Electrodynamics of 'o+in& -odies

2pecial relativity

47 ?une

;econciled <a-well%s equations for electricity and magnetism with the laws of mechanics by introducing ma=or #. changes to mechanics close to the speed 2eptember of light, resulting from analysis based on empirical evidence that the speed of light is independent of the motion of the observer. :iscredited the concept of a

$luminiferous ether.$

3oes the 4nertia of a -ody 3epend 5pon 4ts Ener&y Content6

,quivalence of matter and <atter! energy, E " mc# (and by implication, the #0 #& energy ability of gravity to $bend$ light), the 2eptember (ovember equivalence e-istence of $rest energy$, and the basis of nuclear energy.

Thermodynamic fluctuations and statistical physics 'ain articles( *tatistical mechanics) thermal fluctuations) and statistical physics 3lbert ,instein%s first paper submitted in &'77 to Annalen der Physik was on capillary attraction. /t was published in &'7& with the title $9olgerungen aus den EapillaritKtserscheinungen,$ which translates as $Eonclusions from the capillarity phenomena$. +wo papers he published in &'7#! &'74 (thermodynamics) attempted to interpret atomic phenomena from a statistical point of view. +hese papers were the foundation for the &'7@ paper on 5rownian motion, which showed that 5rownian movement can be construed as firm evidence that molecules e-ist. His research in &'74 and &'76 was mainly concerned with the effect of finite atomic si*e on diffusion phenomena. *eneral principles He articulated the principle of relativity. +his was understood by Hermann <in ows i to be a generali*ation of rotational invariance from space to space-time. 8ther principles postulated by ,instein and later vindicated are the principle of equivalence and the principle of adiabatic invariance of the quantum number. Theory of relativity and E + mc, % 'ain article( /istory of special relati+ity ,instein%s $7ur Elektrodynamik be#e&ter 28rper$ ($8n the ,lectrodynamics of <oving 5odies$) was received on 47 ?une &'7@ and published #. 2eptember of that same year. /t reconciles <a-well%s equationsfor electricity and magnetism with the laws of mechanics, by introducing ma=or changes to mechanics close to the speed of light. +his later became nown as ,instein%s special theory of relativity. Eonsequences of this include the time-space frame of a moving body appearing to slow down and contract (in the direction of motion) when measured in the frame of the observer. +his

paper also argued that the idea of a luminiferous aetherPone of the leading theoretical entities in physics at the timePwas superfluous. /n his paper on mass!energy equivalence, ,instein produced E " mc# from his special relativity equations. ,instein%s &'7@ wor on relativity remained controversial for many years, but was accepted by leading physicists, starting with <a- )lanc . )hotons and energy -uanta 'ain articles( Photon and 9uantum /n a &'7@ paper,Q&77R ,instein postulated that light itself consists of locali*ed particles ( quanta). ,instein%s light quanta were nearly universally re=ected by all physicists, including <a- )lanc and (iels 5ohr. +his idea only became universally accepted in &'&', with ;obert <illi an%s detailed e-periments on the photoelectric effect, and with the measurement of Eompton scattering. ,instein concluded that each wave of frequency f is associated with a collection of photons with energy hf each, where h is )lanc %s constant. He does not say much more, because he is not sure how the particles are related to the wave. 5ut he does suggest that this idea would e-plain certain e-perimental results, notably the photoelectric effect. .uantized atomic vibrations 'ain article( Einstein solid /n &'70, ,instein proposed a model of matter where each atom in a lattice structure is an independent harmonic oscillator. /n the ,instein model, each atom oscillates independentlyPa series of equally spaced quanti*ed states for each oscillator. ,instein was aware that getting the frequency of the actual oscillations would be different, but he nevertheless proposed this theory because it was a particularly clear demonstration that quantum mechanics could solve the specific heat problem in classical mechanics. )eter :ebye refined this model. Adiabatic principle and action/angle variables 'ain article( .ld quantum theory +hroughout the &'&7s, quantum mechanics e-panded in scope to cover many different systems. 3fter ,rnest ;utherford discovered the nucleus and proposed that electrons orbit li e planets, (iels 5ohr was able to show that the same quantum mechanical postulates introduced by )lanc and developed by ,instein would e-plain the discrete motion of electrons in atoms, and the periodic table of the elements. ,instein contributed to these developments by lin ing them with the &A'A arguments Wilhelm Wien had made. Wien had shown that the hypothesis of adiabatic invariance of a thermal equilibrium state allows all the blac body curves at different temperature to be derived from one another by a simple shifting process. ,instein noted in &'&& that the same adiabatic principle shows that the quantity which is quanti*ed in any mechanical motion must be an adiabatic

invariant. 3rnold 2ommerfeld identified this adiabatic invariant as the action variable of classical mechanics.