Thursday, November 24, 2005

New Banner - Einstein , E=mc²

I wasn't sure what to paint for this weeks banner- i did briefly think about doing something for the American holiday of Thanksgiving but I decided that wasn't a good idea, as being Scottish , its not something I've never celebrated, though i hope everyone who does celebrate it has a wonderful time.

However yesterday, I saw a news item that said Einstein's equation E=mc² was 100 years old this year - so i thought Einstein would be a good subject for the banner.

Einstein is probably the world's best known scientist and E=mc², the equation that most people have heard of even if they don't have much of a clue about its meaning.

E=mc² -Energy [E] equals mass [m] times the speed of light squared [c²]

I think some of Einstein's popularity has a lot to do with his cheery eccentric scientist image and unruly hair - and of course the famous photo of his tongue sticking out!

Einstein [1879 -1955] was born in Germany to a non-observant Jewish family. He wasn't considered a very good school student though he was very skilled in modelmaking and mechanics. Its very possible that he was dyslexic as he was excellent at maths and sciences but failed the arts part of his secondary school certificate.

In 1905, while working as a patent clerk, Einstein had several ground breaking academic papers published - Annus Mirabilis Papers - including the one with the E=mc² equation.
He was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1921 for his work on photoelectricity.

Einstein left Germany for the United States after Hitler came to power and became a US citizen in 1940.


He was a pacifist , Civil Rights activist and humanitarian and strongly supported nuclear disarmament - and is quoted as saying "I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones."


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