In calculating entropy by molecular-theoretic methods, the word “probability” is often used in a sense differing from the way the word is defined in probability theory. This paper also contains one of my favourite quotes about probability, which I have tried to drum into cohorts of first-year students: It takes a fixed amount of energy to knock an electron out of the metal Einstein proposed that if the energy of a quantum is proportional to the frequency (as Planck proposed) then this effect can be explained.Ĭontrary to popular belief, it was this paper rather than the paper on special relativity for which Einstein was awarded the Nobel Prize. The crucial factor is not the intensity of light, but its frequency there is a sharp threshold below which no electrons are emitted no matter how intense the light, and above which they are emitted no matter how weak it is. When light is shone on certain metals, electrons are emitted. Einstein used this idea to explain the photoelectric effect. In 1900, Max Planck had explained anomalies in the spectrum of black-body radiation by assuming that energy was transferred in discrete packages or “quanta”. The first paper is regarded as one of the founding documents of quantum theory, a theory which Einstein himself later came to disown. introducing his theory of special relativity andĮnglish translations of these papers, together with commentary and context, can be found in the book Einstein’s Miraculous Year, edited by John Stachel.a determination of Avogadro’s number (equivalently, the mass of an.He wrote five papers, pubished that year or the next: I thought it might be worth having a brief look at what Einstein did, and the context.ġ905 was a very good year for Einstein. On the other hand, everyone knows Einstein’s formula, but it is physics where the mathematicians’ concept of proof does not really apply. I certainly do not intend to discuss Deolalikar’s claimed proof here see the blog referred to above for serious discussion of this. The latter is one of the most important open questions in theoretical computer science, for which the Clay Institute is offering a million-dollar prize. A post on Einstein and the P≠NP question on the Gödel’s lost letter and P=NP blog invites readers to comment on the similarities and differences between two snappy formulae: Einstein’s E= mc 2 and the formula P≠NP which is the title of a recent preprint by Vinay Deolalikar.
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