Throughout human history, we’ve always had people with a great imagination and the ability to really push the boundaries and show off a unique vision. One of those people is certainly Albert Einstein. His theories and work have influenced the evolution of humanity, and they are still widely used even to this date.
What made Albert Einstein famous?
Albert Einstein created or helped develop a lot of interesting applications within fields like atomic energy, light and space exploration.
In fact, it’s thanks to his theorems that we get to know more about space, time, but also gravity and matter as a whole. He also received honorary doctorate degrees in philosophy and science, and won the Novel Prize for Physics in 1921.
Thanks to its significant contributions related to the photoelectric effect, which were revolutionary at that time.
However, the theories and inventions listed below show how much work Albert Einstein did in not only the Brownian movement and theory of relativity which he is the most famous for, but also a variety of lesser-known contributions that had a significant impact as well.
And here are the 8 Albert Einstein’s Theories that changed the world forever!
1. The quantum theory of light
Albert Einstein created this theory and he stated that light is made out of small energy packets which were called photons.
According to him, these photons come with properties very similar to a wave. Within this theory, he also talked about the electron emissions coming from metals when they were struck by lighting.
Named the photoelectric effect, this theory also became very popular within the scientific community.
What a lot of people don’t know is this particular theory is what led to the invention of TVs later on. If we think about it, this theory is also the reason why we have computers and even smartphones. It all started with Einstein and its theory regarding photons.
2. Wave particle duality
According to Albert Einstein, light should be seen both as a particle, but also a wave. Which basically meant photons would have the behavior of a particle and a wave at the same time.
This theory brought the idea of wave-particle duality to fruition. This idea was incredibly important, because it showed the amazing complexity of photons, while also encouraging other scientists to harness both those benefits and features of light to create a large variety of unique inventions.
3. The photoelectric effect
Another theory created by Albert Einstein would be the Photoelectric Effect. This particular theory talks about the electron emissions generated by metals whenever light ends up shining on it.
Maxwell’s wave theory of light was hard to understand until Einstein came with the photoelectric effect theory and showcased the true properties of photons.
This theory suggests that whenever light is hitting objects, electrons are automatically emitted. Needless to say, this theory was also implemented in another invention, namely solar cells. Light forces atoms to generate electrons, those are generating current and thus you produce electricity.
4. The Manhattan Project
The Manhattan Project is one of the most coveted pieces of work created by Albert Einstein, but also extremely controversial.
Einstein worked on this research which was supported by the US, and it was his research among with other scientists that led to the creation of the first atomic bomb.
After seeing the destruction that it can do in WWII, Einstein was the first to campaign against the use of nuclear weaponry.
As we know, no other nuclear attack happened since that day, but it certainly served as a reminder to humanity that nuclear weapons are definitely going to lead to destruction, most of which can’t be repaired either.
5. Special and General Theory of Relativity
The Special Theory of Relativity is widely known for being called the special relativity. It’s the theory that shows the overall relationship between space and time.
The theory itself has 2 main components, mainly the speed of light is constant no matter the light source or observer motion and that the laws of physics are always the same no matter the situation.
What’s important to keep in mind is that this theory explains the E=mc2 equation.
Then we also have the General Theory of Relativity which helps generalize Newton’s Law of Universal Gravitation and the aforementioned Special Theory of Relativity.
This particular theory states that gravity belongs to space and time. This is also known as the geometric theory of gravitation. It’s this theory that defines gravity in the world of modern physics.
6. Brownian movement
The Brownian movement is maybe one of the most popular theorems created by Einstein. He created it while working on the molecular theory of liquids.
At that time, he noticed that particles were in motion, and the Brownian movement theory is what ended up coming out of his studies. Their particular theory is very relevant because it talks about how gas or fluid particles have random particle movements.
With this theory Einstein was focused on explain why particles would have a zig-zag movement while they were in suspension. The study was also focused on showing that atoms and molecules do exist in particles, so it was very revolutionary and something incredibly interesting to say the least.
7. The Bose-Einstein condensate
Albert Einstein worked closely with Satyendra Nath Bose in order to help design a concept focused on understanding light as gas.
This idea wanted to show that atoms are cooled whenever they reach absolute zero, yet they don’t really move. Instead, they are creating various clumps or clusters and enter a specific state of energy.
From there, the scientists showed that a group of atoms would behave just like a singular atom. Not only that, but it would also retain the characteristics of that atom.
8. Avogadro’s number
Einstein contributed to the Avogadro’s number as well. He was working on his math needed to support the Brownian movement theory, and during that time he also managed to prove that atoms exist as well.
He thus managed to lay the foundation needed to calculate Avogadro’s number. Albert Einstein showed that small particles do exist, and Jean Perrin used this information to calculate Avogadro’s number, while also showing atoms do exist.
Perrin was even awarded the Nobel Prize in 1926 thanks to that, since he pursued Einstein’s ideas and managed to complete the calculations thanks to the groundwork laid by Einstein.
Summary
Albert Einstein’s incredible contribution to our society
Albert Einstein’s work is a staple of what a brilliant mind can do, and all these theories helped invent and design many of the things we use today.
We might not have a TV or a smartphone without Einstein’s unique inventions and ideas. It just goes to show what a single mind can do for our society.
According to Einstein, “Curiosity has its own reason for existing”, so pursuing this and always pushing the limits can indeed make a difference. It’s always important to continue studying, pushing the limits and never giving up.
Thankfully, Einstein laid all the necessary groundwork and thanks to his research, many scientists get to bring us some amazing inventions that wouldn’t be possible otherwise!
