An unknown scientist working as a patent clerk in Switzerland, Einstein changed the understanding of science. In 1905, the miracle year, Einstein working outside of an academic institution revolutionized science with five papers.
1. The Quantum Theory of Light
Quantum Mechanics was a new physics theory of the atom that was just beginning to make it’s mark. One physicist, Max Plank, worked on the quanta theory of heat. A quanta is a bundle of energy. It moves from one location to another by jumping to that location, not streaming to it.
Then in March 1905, Einstein took the concept to the next level. He created the quantum theory of light, which was the idea that light exists as tiny packets, or particles. He called these packets photons. In one fell swoop, Einstein proposed one of the most shocking notions in twentieth century physics: we live in a quantum universe, surrounded by tiny chunks of energy and matter. The continuous stream of particles was no longer true. Particles are built out of tiny, discrete chunks of energy and matter.
2. Counting the Size of Atoms
In April Einstein published a paper where he invented a new method of counting and determining the size of the atoms or molecules in a given space. It shows how to use fluid phenomena to determine Avogadro’s Number, which is related to the size of atoms.
3. The Phenomenon of Brownian Motion
In the paper in May he explains the phenomenon of Brownian motion. His paper on the Movement of Small Particles Suspended in Stationary Liquids Required by the Molecular-Kinetic Theory of Heat showed that the motion of the particles could be explained by the forces that interact with the atoms.
The net result of these two papers yielded proof that atoms actually exist. It put an end to the debate on the fundamental nature of the chemical elements.
4. Special Relativity
If these previous papers weren’t enough to make him a great scientist, Einstein then published the landmark theory of light, which changed the way we look at time and speed. That was the special theory of relativity.
What made this unique was the view that light could be treated as a wave. Previously, in the earlier article, he said it could be treated as a particle. Was this a contradiction or a mistake? Hardly, because Einstein showed how both phenomena could take place.
5. Energy and Matter Equivalency
The last paper showed that matter and energy were related in a special way. He is probably best known for the formula E=MC2. This formula, moreover, is probably the most well known outside of physics, even supplanting Newton’s famous F=MA.
This formula predicted an evolution of energy to the level about a million times more efficient than that obtained by ordinary physio-chemical means.
Even Einstein did not grasp the full implications of his formula. However, he suggested later that the conversion of tiny amounts of the mass of radium salts into energy would produce heat energy. This was the foundations of the nuclear bomb.
For Einstein and science 1905 changed the world, but he would not be done. More articles would be published and his magnum opus, the General Theory of Relativity would be 10 years away.