while； the michelson…morley experiments would hover unpleasantly； like a mustysmell； in the background of scientific thought。
remarkably； and despite his findings； when the twentieth century dawned michelsoncounted himself among those who believed that the work of science was nearly at an end；with “only a few turrets and pinnacles to be added； a few roof bosses to be carved；” in thewords of a writer in nature。
in fact； of course； the world was about to enter a century of science where many peoplewouldn’t understand anything and none would understand everything。 scientists would soonfind themselves adrift in a bewildering realm of particles and antiparticles； where things popin and out of existence in spans of time that make nanoseconds look plodding and uneventful；where everything is strange。 science was moving from a world of macrophysics； whereobjects could be seen and held and measured； to one of microphysics； where events transpirewith unimaginable swiftness on scales far below the limits of imagining。 we were about toenter the quantum age； and the first person to push on the door was the so…far unfortunatemax planck。
in 1900； now a theoretical physicist at the university of berlin and at the somewhatadvanced age of forty…two； planck unveiled a new “quantum theory；” which posited thatenergy is not a continuous thing like flowing water but es in individualized packets；which he called quanta。 this was a novel concept； and a good one。 in the short term it wouldhelp to provide a solution to the puzzle of the michelson…morley experiments in that itdemonstrated that light needn’t be a wave after all。 in the longer term it would lay thefoundation for the whole of modern physics。 it was； at all events； the first clue that the worldwas about to change。
but the landmark event—the dawn of a new age—came in 1905； when there appeared inthe german physics journal annalen der physik a series of papers by a young swissbureaucrat who had no university affiliation； no access to a laboratory； and the regular use of no library greater than that of the national patent office in bern； where he was employed as atechnical examiner third class。 （an application to be promoted to technical examiner secondclass had recently been rejected。）his name was albert einstein； and in that one eventful year he submitted to annalen derphysik five papers； of which three； according to c。 p。 snow； “were among the greatest in thehistory of physics”—one examining the photoelectric effect by means of planck’s newquantum theory； one on the behavior of small particles in suspension （what is known asbrownian motion）； and one outlining a special theory of relativity。
the first won its author a nobel prize and explained the nature of light （and also helped tomake television possible； among other things）。
3the second provided proof that atoms doindeed exist—a fact that had； surprisingly； been in some dispute。 the third merely changedthe world。
einstein was born in ulm； in southern germany； in 1879； but grew up in munich。 little inhis early life suggested the greatness to e。 famously he didn’t learn to speak until he wasthree。 in the 1890s； his father’s electrical business failing； the family moved to milan； butalbert； by now a teenager； went to switzerland to continue his education—though he failedhis college entrance exams on the first try。 in 1896 he gave up his german citizenship toavoid military conscription and entered the zurich polytechnic institute on a four…year coursedesigned to churn out high school science teachers。 he was a bright but not outstandingstudent。
in 1900 he graduated and within a few months was beginning to contribute papers toannalen der physik。 his very first paper； on the physics of fluids in drinking straws （of allthings）； appeared in the same issue as planck’s quantum theory。 from 1902 to 1904 heproduced a series of papers on statistical mechanics only to discover that the quietlyproductive j。 willard gibbs in connecticut had done that work as well； in his elementaryprinciples of statistical mechanics of 1901。
at the same time he had fallen in love with a fellow student； a hungarian named milevamaric。 in 1901 they had a child out of wedlock； a daughter； who was discreetly put up foradoption。 einstein never saw his child。 two years later； he and maric were married。 inbetween these events； in 1902； einstein took a job with the swiss patent office； where hestayed for the next seven years。 he enjoyed the work： it was challenging enough to engage hismind； but not so challenging as to distract him from his physics。 this was the backgroundagainst which he produced the special theory of relativity in 1905。
called “on the electrodynamics of moving bodies；” it is one of the most extraordinaryscientific papers ever published； as much for how it was presented as for what it said。 it hadno footnotes or citations； contained almost no mathematics； made no mention of any workthat had influenced or preceded it； and acknowledged the help of just one individual； a3einstein was honored； somewhat vaguely； 〃for services to theoretical physics。〃 he had to wait sixteen years； till1921； to receive the award…quite a long time； all things considered； but nothing at all pared with frederickreines； who detected the neutrino in 1957 but wasnt honored with a nobel until 1995； thirty…eight years later； orthe german ernst ruska； who invented the electron microscope in 1932 and received his nobel prize in 1986；more than half a century after the fact。 since nobel prizes are never awarded posthumously； longevity can be asimportant a factor as ingenuity for prizewinners。
colleague at the patent office named michele besso。 it was； wrote c。 p。 snow； as if einstein“had reached the conclusions by pure thought； unaided； without listening to the opinions ofothers。 to a surprisingly large extent； that is precisely what he had done。”
his famous equation； e =mc2； did not appear with the paper； but came in a brief supplementthat followed a few months later。 as you will recall from school days； e in the equation standsfor energy； m for mass； and c2for the speed of light squared。
in simplest terms； what the equation says is that mass and energy have an equivalence。
they are two forms of the same thing： energy is liberated matter； matter is energy waiting tohappen。 since c2（the speed of light times itself） is a truly enormous number； what theequation is saying is that there is a huge amount—a really huge amount—of energy bound upin every material thing。
4you may not feel outstandingly robust； but if you are an average…sized adult you willcontain within your modest frame no less than 7 x 1018joules of potential energy—enough toexplode with the force of thirty very large hydrogen bombs； assuming you knew how toliberate it and really wished to make a point。 everything has this kind of energy trappedwithin it。 we’re just not very good at getting it out。 even a uranium bomb—the mostenergetic thing we have produced yet—releases less than 1 percent of the energy it couldrelease if only we were more cunning。
among much else； einstein’s theory explained how radiation worked： how a lump ofuranium could throw out constant streams of high…level energy without melting away like anice cube。 （it could do it by converting mass to energy extremely efficiently à lae =mc2。） itexplained how stars could burn for billions of years without racing through their fuel。 （ditto。）at a stroke； in a simple formula； einstein endowed geologists and astronomers with theluxury of billions of years。 above all； the special theory showed that the speed of light wasconstant and supreme。 nothing could overtake it。 it brought light （no pun intended； exactly） tothe very heart of our understanding of the nature of the universe。 not incidentally； it alsosolved the problem of the luminiferous ether by making it clear that it didn’t exist。 einsteingave us a universe that didn’t need it。
physicists as a rule are not overattentive to the pronouncements of swiss patent officeclerks； and so； despite the abundance of useful tidings； einstein’s papers attracted little notice。
having just solved several of the deepest mysteries of the universe； einstein applied for a jobas a university lecturer and was rejected； and then as a high school teacher and was rejectedthere as well。 so he went back to his job as an examiner third class； but of course he keptthinking。 he hadn’t even e close to finishing yet。
when the poet paul valéry once asked einstein if he kept a notebook to record his ideas；einstein looked at him with mild but genuine surprise。 “oh； that’s not necessary；” he replied。
“it’s so seldom i have one。” i need hardly point out that when he did get one it tended to begood。 einstein’s next idea was one of the greatest that anyone has ever had—indeed； the verygreatest； according to boorse； motz； and weaver in their thoughtful history of atomic science。
4how c came to be the symbol for the speed of light is something of a mystery； but david bodanis suggests itprobably came from the latin celeritas； meaning swiftness。 the relevant volume of the oxford englishdictionary； piled a decade before einsteins theory； recognizes c as a symbol for many things； fr