Albert Einstein

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Portrait of Albert Einstein in a suit and tie, looking slightly to the side with a neutral expression.

Black-and-white photograph of Albert Einstein as a young child, dressed in a dark outfit with a large bow, standing beside an ornate chair in a studio setting.

Black-and-white portrait of Albert Einstein in a suit and tie, facing slightly to the right with a neutral expression.

black and white photograph of Albert Einstein and his first wife, Mileva Marić-Einstein

Brian Greene sits in a living room, holding a pen, with handwritten equations m = E/c^2 and E = mc^2 on a whiteboard beside him, highlighting c^2 as the speed of light.

Diagram illustrating Brownian motion, showing red and brown circles representing particles above and below a blue wavy line, with many small gray dots symbolizing atoms.

Physicist Brian Greene speaks in front of a window, with a digital illustration of the solar system and curved planetary orbits shown beside him.

Hand-drawn illustration showing a graph of intensity versus energy, with arrows pointing to a light bulb and particles, a wavy line above, and two surprised stick figures in top hats.

Sepia-toned portrait of Albert Einstein by Doris Ulmann, 1931, showing Einstein seated and looking to the side in a suit.

At a Glance

Black-and-white portrait of Albert Einstein in a suit and tie, facing slightly to the right with a neutral expression.

Albert Einstein summary

Albert Einstein: Media

German-American physicist

Videos

Brian Greene sits in a living room, holding a pen, with handwritten equations m = E/c^2 and E = mc^2 on a whiteboard beside him, highlighting c^2 as the speed of light.

Explaining E = mc²

Brian Greene kicking off his Your Daily Equation video series with Albert...

Video: © World Science Festival (A Britannica Publishing Partner)

Diagram illustrating Brownian motion, showing red and brown circles representing particles above and below a blue wavy line, with many small gray dots symbolizing atoms.

Albert Einstein's Theory of Brownian Motion

Learn about Albert Einstein's theory of Brownian motion and how he derived the size...

Video: © MinutePhysics (A Britannica Publishing Partner)

Physicist Brian Greene speaks in front of a window, with a digital illustration of the solar system and curved planetary orbits shown beside him.

Einstein's General Theory of Relativity: The Essential Idea

Albert Einstein's general theory of relativity, phrased in terms of warps and curves...

Video: © World Science Festival (A Britannica Publishing Partner)

Hand-drawn illustration showing a graph of intensity versus energy, with arrows pointing to a light bulb and particles, a wavy line above, and two surprised stick figures in top hats.

Albert Einstein's Idea on Why Light Is a Particle

Learn about Albert Einstein's 1905 paper on why light is a particle.

Video: © MinutePhysics (A Britannica Publishing Partner)

Split image showing Dr. J. Robert Oppenheimer at a chalkboard on the left and actor Cillian Murphy portraying Oppenheimer with a cigarette and hat on the right.

The True Story of Oppenheimer and the Atomic Bomb

J. Robert Oppenheimer became involved in nuclear research in 1941. His biopic, Oppenheimer,...

Video: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.; thumbnail © Universal Pictures

A hand places a dark glove into a metal box lined with white tissue, set on grass, illustrating a concept related to quantum mechanics and the uncertainty principle.

Understand Albert Einstein's perspective of disagreement about the element of uncertainty of quantum theory

Learn about the element of indeterminacy in Niels Bohr's interpretation of quantum...

Video: © Open University (A Britannica Publishing Partner)

Learn about the life and career of Albert Einstein and his contributions to science

Learn about the life and career of Albert Einstein and his contributions to science

An overview of Albert Einstein's life and career.

Video: © Your Life (A Britannica Publishing Partner)

Learn about Niels Bohr and the difference of opinion between Bohr and Albert Einstein on quantum mechanics

Learn about Niels Bohr and the difference of opinion between Bohr and Albert Einstein on quantum mechanics

Hear Abraham Pais, Paul Davies, and other authorities discuss Niels Bohr as well...

Video: © Open University (A Britannica Publishing Partner)

Understand the theoretical model of dark energy and the acceleration of the universe

Understand the theoretical model of dark energy and the acceleration of the universe

Brief description of dark energy and the acceleration of the universe.

Video: © MinutePhysics (A Britannica Publishing Partner)

View a demonstration to understand Albert Einstein's general theory of relativity

View a demonstration to understand Albert Einstein's general theory of relativity

Explore general relativity.

Video: © World Science Festival (A Britannica Publishing Partner)

What are gravitational waves and how were they first detected?

What are gravitational waves and how were they first detected?

Learn about gravitational waves and how scientists in 2015 first directly detected...

Video: Courtesy of Northwestern University (A Britannica Publishing Partner)

Hear a discussion about the unique physical structure of Albert Einstein's brain

Hear a discussion about the unique physical structure of Albert Einstein's brain

A discussion of the unique features of Albert Einstein's brain.

Video: © World Science Festival (A Britannica Publishing Partner)

Physicist Brian Greene speaks in front of a window, with an illustration of expanding balloons representing the universe on the screen beside him.

Einstein, the Big Bang, and the Expansion of the Universe

After Albert Einstein published his theory of gravity, researchers realized that...

Video: © World Science Festival (A Britannica Publishing Partner)

Know about Nicolas Gisin and his team's experiment to test the Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen paradox

Know about Nicolas Gisin and his team's experiment to test the Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen paradox

Learn how the Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen paradox was put to the test by Nicolas Gisin's...

Video: © Open University (A Britannica Publishing Partner)

How the big-bang theory was developed

How the big-bang theory was developed

History of the big-bang model.

Video: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Witness Albert Einstein and Robert Millikan at the opening ceremony of the Mount Palomar Observatory 1948

Witness Albert Einstein and Robert Millikan at the opening ceremony of the Mount Palomar Observatory 1948

This 1948 video shows the opening of the Mount Palomar Observatory, near San Diego....

Video: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Know about the discovery of gravitational waves and their role in unlocking secrets of the universe

Know about the discovery of gravitational waves and their role in unlocking secrets of the universe

An overview of gravitational waves, including the announcement of their discovery.

Video: © Behind the News (A Britannica Publishing Partner)

Understand the proof of Albert Einstein's special relativity equation

Understand the proof of Albert Einstein's special relativity equation

Proof of Albert Einstein's special relativity equation E = mc².

Video: © MinutePhysics (A Britannica Publishing Partner)

How are gravitational waves applied in science and in everyday life?

How are gravitational waves applied in science and in everyday life?

Learn about the significance of gravitational waves in science and in everyday life.

Video: Courtesy of Northwestern University (A Britannica Publishing Partner)

Understand the concept of Albert Einstein's special theory of relativity

Understand the concept of Albert Einstein's special theory of relativity

A brief description and history of Albert Einstein's special theory of relativity.

Video: © MinutePhysics (A Britannica Publishing Partner)

Understand Albert Einstein's theory of relativity, about what is absolute and not relative

Understand Albert Einstein's theory of relativity, about what is absolute and not relative

Description of Albert Einstein's theory of relativity as a theory about what is absolute...

Video: © MinutePhysics (A Britannica Publishing Partner)

Learn about the six famous paradoxes in philosophy and science

Learn about the six famous paradoxes in philosophy and science

An overview of six famous paradoxes in philosophy and science.

Video: © Open University (A Britannica Publishing Partner)

Images

Portrait of Albert Einstein in a suit and tie, looking slightly to the side with a neutral expression.

Albert Einstein

Albert Einstein developed the special and general theory of relativity, which recast...

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Black-and-white photograph of Albert Einstein as a young child, dressed in a dark outfit with a large bow, standing beside an ornate chair in a studio setting.

Albert Einstein as a child

Earliest known photograph of Albert Einstein. He later recalled an early interest...

© Photo 12—Universal Images Group/Getty Images

Black-and-white portrait of Albert Einstein in a suit and tie, facing slightly to the right with a neutral expression.

Albert Einstein

In 1905, Einstein's “miracle year,” he wrote papers about the photoelectric effect...

© The Nobel Foundation, Stockholm

black and white photograph of Albert Einstein and his first wife, Mileva Marić-Einstein

Mileva Marić-Einstein and Albert Einstein

Portrait of Mileva Marić-Einstein and physicist Albert Einstein, 1912. Marić-Einstein,...

ETH Library Zürich, Image Archive/ETH-Bibliothek (Portr_03106)

Sepia-toned portrait of Albert Einstein by Doris Ulmann, 1931, showing Einstein seated and looking to the side in a suit.

Albert Einstein

Portrait of Albert Einstein by Doris Ulmann, 1931. In the early 1930s Einstein came...

Doris Ulmann/Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (LC-USZC4-4940)

Albert Einstein

During the 1930s, in the face of personal attacks from the Nazi movement, Einstein...

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Albert Einstein shakes hands with Judge Phillip Forman while receiving his American citizenship certificate, surrounded by onlookers.

Albert Einstein

Albert Einstein receiving his certificate of U.S. citizenship from Judge Phillip...

Al Aumuller—NYWT&S Collection/Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (LC-DIG-ppmsca-05649)

Albert Einstein, seated and smiling, is surrounded by a group of children and adults who are gathered closely around him at his home in Princeton on his 70th birthday.

Albert Einstein with children from the Reception Shelter of United Service for New Americans

On his 70th birthday, Albert Einstein greeting children from the Reception Shelter...

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Portrait of Albert Einstein around 1947, showing him with white hair and mustache, wearing a tweed jacket and looking toward the camera.

Albert Einstein

Portrait of Albert Einstein, c. 1947. Toward the end of his life Einstein worked...

Prints and Photographs Division/Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (LC-USZ62-60242)

Portrait of Albert Einstein wearing a suit and tie, with tousled hair and a mustache, looking slightly upward.

Albert Einstein

Portrait of Albert Einstein. His theory of relativity has played a key role in the...

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Portrait of Michio Kaku in 2012, wearing a suit and red patterned tie, with gray shoulder-length hair and a neutral expression.

Michio Kaku

Michio Kaku, author of Encyclopædia Britannica's biography on Albert Einstein.

Andrew Cribb/Alamy

Albert Einstein.

Albert Einstein.

Harris and Ewing Collection/Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (LC-DIG-hec-31012)

Albert Einstein

Albert Einstein

Albert Einstein explaining his theories, 1921.

Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Gödel, Kurt; Schwinger, Julian; Einstein, Albert

Gödel, Kurt; Schwinger, Julian; Einstein, Albert

Albert Einstein (left) presenting the first Albert Einstein Award for achievement...

New York World-Telegram and the Sun Newspaper/Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (Digital ID cph 3c33518)

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