Collected Papers of Albert Einstein
23 total works
Several papers here are concerned with aspects of the special theory of relativity, but it is Einstein's article of June 1911 that is a harbinger of things to come: it contains his calculation of the bending of light in a gravitational field on the basis of his equivalence principle. Martin J. Klein is Bass Professor of the History of Science and Professor of Physics at Yale University and Senior Editor of The Collected Papers of Albert Einstein. A. J. Kox teaches history of science at the University of Amsterdam, Jurgen Renn is Assistant Professor of Philosophy and Physics at Boston University, and Robert Schulmann is Assistant Professor of History at Boston University.
The Collected Papers of Albert Einstein, Volume 15 (Translation Supplement)
by Albert Einstein
A translation of selected non-English texts included in Volume 15 is available in paperback. Since this supplementary paperback includes only select portions of Volume 15, it is not recommended for purchase without the main volume.
Every document in The Collected Papers of Albert Einstein appears in the language in which it was written, and this supplementary paperback volume presents the English translations of select portions of non-English materials in Volume 15. This translation does not include notes or annotation of the documentary volume and is not intended for use without the original language documentary edition which provides the extensive editorial commentary necessary for a full historical and scientific understanding of the documents.
In a second paper, which even he referred to as "very revolutionary," he argued that the observed properties of thermal radiation suggest that it consists not of waves, but rather of localized particles of energy which he called energy quanta. The third and most famous paper set forth the special theory of relativity, solving some long-standing difficulties, but requiring a significant change in our understanding of those basic concepts, space and time.
The Collected Papers of Albert Einstein, Volume 10 (English)
by Albert Einstein
It documents the emotional bonds to his family and friends; the severe deprivations caused by the war to family members in Berlin and Zurich; the fragile health of Mileva Einstein-Maric during these years of separation and divorce; the worries and joys of caring for the sons; and Einstein's views on German and international politics during this turbulent period. The second half finds Einstein full of optimism about Germany's new democracy. He vigorously promotes general relativity and the endeavors of other scientists toward its further confirmation. He responds to the rising interest in his work among philosophers, as attested by correspondence with M. Schlick, H. Reichenbach, R. Carnap, E. Cassirer, and H. Vaihinger. And yet he is embroiled in vociferous, politically tinged, public attacks on his theory of relativity. He considers leaving Berlin, which would have deprived the Weimar Republic of its most famous scientist. In many letters, colleagues, friends, and unknown admirers offer support. Einstein travels to Leyden, where he is appointed a visiting professor and where, in the circle of friends such as P. Ehrenfest, H. A. Lorentz, and H.
Kamerlingh Onnes, he is involved in lively debates on issues related to quantum physics. He visits Oslo and Copenhagen, where he meets with N. Bohr, and receives invitations to the United States, anticipating his first visit to the New World in 1921.
A paper written with Ehrenfest shows with uncompromising clarity that the outcome of the recent Stern-Gerlach experiment could not be explained by either classical or quantum theory. In a similar vein, he analyzes the phenomenon of superconductivity. Clearly among the leading quantum theorists, he focuses on its conceptual bases, tirelessly proposing crucial experiments that could decide between classical and quantum physics. We also see foundational interests develop in his concerns with a unified field theory of electromagnetism and gravitation. A translation of selected non-English texts included in Volume 13 is available in paperback at http://press.princeton.edu/titles/9874.html
The Collected Papers of Albert Einstein, Volume 9. (English)
by Albert Einstein
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 Collected Papers of Albert Einstein, Volume 6 (English)
by Albert Einstein
Before the beginning of World War I, Einstein had never expressed his views on nonscientific subjects. Yet one of his first reactions to this previously unthinkable general war was to sign an "Appeal to Europeans" urging an immediate end to hostilities. Every document in The Collected Papers of Albert Einstein appears in the language in which it was written.
The Collected Papers of Albert Einstein, Volume 14 (English)
by Albert Einstein
The letters in this volume clarify the development of his academic career once he leaves the Patent Office in 1909, and bring out the important parts played by such staunch supporters of Einstein as Alfred Kleiner, Fritz Haber, and, above all, Walther Nernst. Most significant, however, is the way the letters document crucial aspects of Einstein's scientific activity: his concentration for years on the unfathomable problems of quanta and radiation, his extensive knowledge of experimental physics, his many fruitful interactions with experimentalists, and finally his long struggle to generalize the 1905 theory of relativity to include gravitation and accelerated frames of reference.
During this period, he delivers lectures, meets with heads of state, visits major institutions, and attends receptions hosted by the local Jewish and German communities. He has a serious, but short-lived, falling out with his son Hans Albert and his first wife Mileva Maric-Einstein over how to invest part of the Nobel Prize money and he rescues his sister Maja and her husband from debt on their house. Einstein has a fourteen-month romantic relationship with his secretary, Betty Neumann, which he ends in October 1924.
In addition to all of Einstein's known correspondence and other writings from this period, the volume includes the relevant portions of all third-party letters and other contemporary documents that provide additional information about his secondary schooling at the Aargau Cantonal School; his four years at the Swiss Federal Plytechnical School, or the ETH; and his search for a job after graduation. Included in the volume are those sections of an unpublished biography by Einstein's sister, Maja Winteler-Einstein, which deal with his early years; his extensive notes on a physics course he took at the ETH; and previously unpublished photographs of the young Einstein and his teachers and friends. Documents in Volume 1 portray Einstein's experiences during the two stressful years after his graduation from the ETH in Zurich. Denied a position as an Assistant at the ETH, he lived a hand-to-mouth existence while he looked for a post at other universities; then he attempted to find a secondary-school post, and finally sought a nonacademic job. Tension with his parents over his plans to marry Mileva Maric is evident throughout this period.
With the help of a friend, he finally found work at the Swiss Patent Office, the haven where he would spend the next seven years. Freed from his financial worries, he entered on one of the most productive periods of his life, as the next volume, Writings (1901-1910), will document.
This volume opens in spring 1914 when Einstein takes up a research professorship at the Prussian Academy of Sciences in Berlin and closes with the collapse of the German Empire four and one-half years later. A good portion of the documentation, which comprises more than 675 letters, has only recently been discovered by the editors. The letters touch on all aspects of Einstein's activities and shed new light on his inner life, while enriching our understanding of his published papers, presented in volumes 6 and 7 of this series.
The breakup of Einstein's first marriage and the divorce are presented here for the first time in all their complexity. New material shows Einstein maintaining a strong sense of moral urgency throughout the war. The scientific correspondence documents Einstein's struggle to find satisfactory field equations for his new gravitational theory--the general theory of relativity--and his continued discussion with leading physicists and mathematicians about the implications and further development of the theory.
The Collected Papers of Albert Einstein, Volume 8 (English)
by Albert Einstein
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.
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.
The Collected Papers of Albert Einstein, Volume 7 (English)
by Albert Einstein
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.
This volume covers one of the most thrilling two-year periods in twentieth-century physics, as matrix mechanics-developed chiefly by W. Heisenberg, M. Born, and P. Jordan-and wave mechanics-developed by E. Schroedinger-supplanted the earlier quantum theory. The almost one hundred writings by Einstein, of which a third have never been published, and the more than thirteen hundred letters show Einstein's immense productivity and hectic pace of life.
Einstein quickly grasps the conceptual peculiarities involved in the new quantum mechanics, such as the difference between Schroedinger's wave function and a field defined in spacetime, or the emerging statistical interpretation of both matrix and wave mechanics. Inspired by correspondence with G. Y. Rainich, he investigates with Jakob Grommer the problem of motion in general relativity, hoping for a hint at a new avenue to unified field theory.
Einstein falls victim to scientific fraud when, in a collaboration with E. Rupp, he becomes convinced that the latter's experiments, aimed at deciding whether excited atoms emit light instantaneously (in quanta) or in a finite time (in waves), confirm a wave-theoretic explanation.
While it was known that the teenage Einstein had been romantically involved with Marie Winteler in 1895, newly discovered documents reveal that his love for Marie was rekindled in 1909-10 while he was still married to Mileva Maric.
The 1925 Locarno Treaties renew Einstein's optimism in European reconciliation. He backs the "International manifesto against compulsory military service" and continues his participation in the League of Nations' International Committee on Intellectual Cooperation. He remains intensely committed to the shaping of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, although his enthusiasm for this cause is sorely tested.
The Collected Papers of Albert Einstein, Volume 16 (Translation Supplement)
by Albert Einstein
A translation of selected non-English texts included in Volume 16 is available in paperback. Since this supplementary paperback includes only select portions of Volume 16, it is not recommended for purchase without the main volume.
Every document in The Collected Papers of Albert Einstein appears in the language in which it was written, and this supplementary paperback volume presents the English translations of select portions of non-English materials in Volume 16. This translation does not include notes or annotations of the documentary volume and is not intended for use without the original language documentary edition, which provides the extensive editorial commentary necessary for a full historical and scientific understanding of the documents.