It is a common perception that Albert Einstein received Nobel Prize for his work on famous theory of relativity but in fact he received the award for his work on the law of photo electric effect. He got the Nobel Prize in 1921 for his work in physics. His discovery of photo electric effect was phenomenal. it is the emission of electron from the surface of metals when put under light.
Photons are the small particles that contain light and this photon contain the energy which is proportional to the light’s frequency. When light reflects through the metal these electrons draw energy from photons and later on they are refused because of the difference in energy. This phenomenon causes the electron flow.
It was also the discovery of Einstein that light has the ability to act as particle and wave both.
Applications
It was because of this discovery that led to the development of solar cells, which is being used as an alternate energy source throughout the world. Another application is the photo diode. Among many other applications, this technology is being widely used in the field of fibre optics and telecommunication.
Einstein’s Famous Publications
Albert Einstein got the as much as four ground breaking publications in 1905, in the field of physics.
These were about:
1) Photo electric effect
2) Brownian motion
3) Special theory of relativity
4) The famous mass and energy equation E=MC2
Among these four famous publications, the theory of relativity altogether changed the direction of physics later on. The famous mass and energy equation led to the creation of atom bomb and other constructive nuclear power projects. That is the reason why in 2005, 100th anniversary of Einstein’s four publications was celebrated.
Later on Einstein added another publication called ‘General Theory of Relativity’. He also did some work on ‘Unified Field’ theory. At the time when Einstein published his general theory of relativity in 1915, people were sceptical about its concept and calculations. However, Einstein told that this theory can be proved right during a solar eclipse and few years later when the solar eclipse happened, all the observations made by the Einstein were verified and his theory was proved correct. It made Einstein even more popular among the masses.
Einstein died in 1955, most people know his as the person who made the atomic bomb because of his mass energy equation. But the fact is that Einstein was against the war and he played no part in the development of the atomic bomb which killed millions in Japan in the 2nd world war. Einstein will always be remembered for his greatest achievements in the field of physics.