Albert Einstein

How many people can say their name is synonymous with the word “genius,” and be correct? Albert Einstein, world-renowned German-born physicist can. Child of Pauline and Hermann Einstein, Albert's life began March 14, 1879 in Ulm, Germany. Twice married-Mileva, his first wife, Elsa his second-Einstein had 3 children, two sons, Hans Albert and Eduard, and a daughter, Lieserl. Albert Einstein was also fond of animals, and once owned a cat that became depressed during rainstorms, Einstein was quoted as once saying to the cat, “I know what's wrong, dear fellow, but I don't know how to turn it off.” Sadly, even though he was one of the most influential men of the 20th century, and a literal genius, not even Einstein could evade death. On April 18, 1955, Albert Einstein died of heart failure, likely due to his age or his love of pipe smoking.

Obviously everyone knows of Albert Einstein. His works in physics have changed the world. It seems every time anybody wants to sound smart, they make reference to Einstein's theory of relativity. Unknown by many, however, is this theory's multitudinous uses, from the destruction of matter, to time travel, and movement of planetary bodies. Basically, the theory states that an object's energy (E) is equal to the object's mass (m) relative to, or in proportion with the speed of light (c2 or 3.00*108m/s) thus, E = mc2. Although Einstein's theory of relativity appears to be his most widely recognized theory, he also had a great number of other theories, additions, explanations, and extensions of other theories, and foundations for future theories made by later physicists.

Despite the fact that his theory of relativity appears to be his most popular, his Nobel Prize in Physics came “for his services to Theoretical Physics, and especially for his discovery of the law of the photoelectric effect.” The photoelectric theory helped to describe an earlier theory by Max Planck. Einstein's addition or explanation of this theory stated that metal objects, which absorb photons, quanta, or more simply put, “packets,” of energy, repel certain electrons relative to the photon's energy, wavelength, and Planck's constant (approximately 6.626 × 10-34 joule-seconds.).

Sadly, however, Albert Einstein's seemingly lifelong goal to coalesce the laws of gravitational fields and electromagnetism into a single series of mathematical equations was not accomplished during his lifetime. That goal is known today as the “Great Unification Theory,” a still unattainable attempt to bring all basic laws of physics together with a single model.

His theories, laws, and other scientific advances were instrumental to the “Manhattan Project,” or the creation of the first nuclear-fission powered bomb, used in the Second World War. He, however, did not work on the making of the bomb itself, and was actually an activist for worldwide atomic disarmament. In fact, he once said, “I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones,” suggesting that the weaponry of World War III will cause so much destruction that life will revert to a less civilized, and less technologically advanced time than the life lived prior to World War III.

Having your name become a household name associated with intelligence is an honor reserved for very few. Albert Einstein is one of the most qualified, if not the complete best fit for this kind of reward. Einstein is a true role model for anybody, which is fitting, as he saw role models as the best teachers. He never stopped asking questions, and learning from his mistakes. A truly inspirational man with an IQ of 160 or above who is as quotable as Einstein was is a hard thing to come by. Not to mention the fact that he began life with a learning disability which he overcame.