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The theory, which revolutionized our understanding of time and space, is based on Einstein's astonishing recognition that light always travels at a constant speed, regardless of how fast you're moving when you measure it.
- Luminiferous Ether
Other scientists, sure that the ether theory was correct,...
- Time
Einstein passed by the clock towers morning on his way home,...
- Constant Speed
The Special Theory of Relativity is based on Einstein's...
- Cosmic Speed Limit
But Einstein showed that the universe does, in fact, have a...
- Global Citizen
Einstein's passionate commitment to the cause of global...
- Revolution: Light
Light travels in waves that radiate outward from the source...
- Luminiferous Ether
People also ask
How did Einstein explain light?
How did Einstein explain the photoelectric effect?
How did Albert Einstein transform physics?
Who invented the photon theory?
Mar 17, 2005 · Scientists call 1905 Albert Einstein's annus mirabilis — his year of miracles. Within a few months, Einstein wrote a series of papers that would transform the way we see the universe.
- Overview
- Basic concepts and methods
In 1905 Einstein extended Planck’s hypothesis to explain the photoelectric effect, which is the emission of electrons by a metal surface when it is irradiated by light or more-energetic photons. The kinetic energy of the emitted electrons depends on the frequency ν of the radiation, not on its intensity; for a given metal, there is a threshold freq...
Bohr’s theory, which assumed that electrons moved in circular orbits, was extended by the German physicist Arnold Sommerfeld and others to include elliptic orbits and other refinements. Attempts were made to apply the theory to more complicated systems than the hydrogen atom. However, the ad hoc mixture of classical and quantum ideas made the theor...
So Einstein proposed that these light quanta were, in fact, real particles that could account for a few reasons and unexplained experiments having to do with knocking electrons off of metals and gas molecules.
- 1 min
Feb 1, 2022 · Einstein's paper on special relativity revolutionized light, light speed, matter and energy with a deceptively simple equation.
Aug 21, 2024 · Einstein supported his photon hypothesis with an analysis of the photoelectric effect, a process, discovered by Hertz in 1887, in which electrons are ejected from a metallic surface illuminated by light.
The first paper explained the photoelectric effect, which established the energy of the light quanta =, and was the only specific discovery mentioned in the citation awarding Einstein the 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics.
