1905 - The miraculous year

1905 was a very busy year for Albert Einstein. Not only did he publish his ground-breaking paper about the photoelectric effect, he also published 4 other papers in that year.

Here is a timeline of his publications:



March 1905- "On a heuristic viewpoint concerning the production and transformation of light."
(AKA. The Photoelectric Effect)
(Ann. Phys., Lpz 17 132-148(1905))




April 1905- "A New Determination of Molecular Dimensions"
(AKA. "Calculating Avogadro's number and the size of molecules by studying their motion in a solution")
Einstein submitted this paper to the University of Zurich and recieved his Ph.D.
(Physics World, January 2005)
(Ann. Phys., Lpz 19 289-305(1906))





May 1905- "On the motion of small particles suspended in liquids at rest required by the molecular-kinetic theory of heat."
(AKA. Brownian Motion)
In this paper, Einstein showed that matter was made up of atoms, and used this theory to explain the observed phenomenon of Brownian Motion (the random motion of particles suspended in a fluid).

For more information, please see Brownian Motion
(Ann. Phys., Lpz 17 549-560(1905))





June 1905-"On the electrodynamics of moving bodies"
(AKA. Special Relativity)
In this paper,Einstein proposed that the speed of light was constant, and that observers in ANY frame of reference would see light in a vacuum travelling at the same speed.

For more information, please see Special Relativity
(Ann. Phys., Lpz 17 891-921(1905))





September 1905-"Does the inertia of a body depend on its energy content?"
(AKA. E=mc2)
His final paper of 1905 stated that energy (E) is equal to mass (m) multiplied by the speed of light (c) squared. This showed that matter could be converted into energy and energy into matter. It lead the way for nuclear technology.
(Ann. Phys., Lpz 18 639-641(1905))

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