Word: einsteins
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1970-1979
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...Einstein, who had helped revolutionize 20th century physics, now was resisting the revolution's latest turn. To him, quantum mechanics was fundamentally incomplete. Nature, he was sure, operated by strict rules that scientists : could uncover. But because of the role of probability in quantum mechanics, Einstein felt that it failed to meet his crucial standard. The universe, he insisted, could not operate on chance. Causality had to exist. Again and again, he would say such things as "God does not play dice." Exasperated, the Danish physicist Niels Bohr, Einstein's friendly adversary, finally replied, "Stop telling God what...
...Einstein, however, was determined to go his own way. Despite criticism he spent much of the second half of his life pursuing the development of what scientists call a unified field theory. In Einstein's time, this meant an all encompassing mathematical construct that would unite under a single set of equations not only gravity but also electromagnetism. Since then the task has become even more difficult, with the discovery of two other basic forces: the nuclear forces. Most
...physicists thought Einstein's lonely quest was hopeless, and in fact he never succeeded. But Einstein was convinced such a basic harmony and simplicity existed in nature...
Even after the pace of Einstein's career slowed and his resistance to quantum mechanics earned him the scorn of some scientists, he still epitomized science in the public eye. As Carl Sagan notes, his example inspired numerous Depression-era youngsters to choose scientific careers. His persona and pronouncements became legends. Asked why he used one soap for washing as well as shaving, he replied, "Two soaps? That is too complicated." Even when receiving visitors like David Ben-Gurion (who later offered him the presidency of Israel), Einstein often would be tieless and sockless. Recalls Physicist-Biographer Banesh Hoffmann...
...Einstein had enormous powers of concentration. When the wind died down while he was out sailing, he would whip out his notebook and do his calculations. Stymied by a thorny problem, he would tell his colleagues in accented English, "Now I will a little tink," pace slowly up and down, while twirling a lock of his unruly hair, or perhaps puff on his pipe, then suddenly erupt in a smile and announce a solution. Interrupted by parades of visitors to his Mercer Street house, he could resume his work almost as soon as they stepped out of his second-floor...