After publishing these
theories, Einstein was promoted at his office. He remained at the Patents Office
for another two years, but his name was becoming too big among the scientific
community. In 1908, Einstein began teaching part time at the University of
Berne, and the following year, at the age of thirty, he became employed full
time by the University of Zurich. Einstein was now able to move to Prague with
his wife and two sons, Hans Albert and Eduard. Finally, after being promoted to
a professor, Einstein and his family were able to enjoy a good standard of
living, but the job’s main advantage was that it allowed Einstein to have access
to an enormous library. It was here that he extended his theory and discussed it
with the leading scientists of Europe. In 1912, he chose to accept a job placing
him in high authority at the Federal Institute of Technology, where he had
originally studied. It was not until 1914 that Einstein was tempted to return to
Germany to become research director of the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Physics.
World War I had a strong effect on Einstein. While the rest of Germany supported
the army, he felt the war was unnecessary and disgusting. The new weapons of war
that attempted to mass slaughter people caused him to devote much of his life
toward creating peace. Toward the end of the war, Einstein joined a political
party worked to end the war, and return peace to Europe. In 1916, the government
outlawed this party, and Einstein was seen as a traitor. In that same year,
Einstein published his General Theory of Relativity. This was the end result of
ten years worth of work. It revolutionized physics. His theory basically stated
that the universe had to be thought of as curved, and told how light was
affected by this. The next year, Einstein published another paper that added
that the universe had no boundary, but actually twisted back on its self. After
the war, many aspects of Einstein’s life changed. He divorced his wife who had
been living in Zurich with the children throughout the war, and married his
cousin Elsa Lowenthal. This led to a renewed interest in his Jewish roots, and
he became an active supporter of Zionism. Since anti-Semitism was growing in
Germany, he became the target of prejudice. There were many rumors about groups
who were trying to kill Einstein, and he began to travel extensively.
The
biggest change, though, was in 1919 when scientists who studied an eclipse
confirmed that his theories were correct. In 1921, he traveled through Britain
and the United States raising funds for Zionism and lecturing about his
theories. He also visited the battle sites of the war and urged that Europe
renew scientific and cultural links. He promoted non-patriotic, non-competitive
education believing that it would prevent war from happening in the future. He
also believed that socialism would help the world achieve peace. Einstein
received the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1922. He gave all the money to his
ex-wife and children to help with their lives and education. After another
lecture tour, he visited Palestine for the opening of the Hebrew University in
Jerusalem. He talked about the possibilities that Palestine held for the Jewish
people. Upon his return, he began to enjoy a calmer life in which he returned to
his original curiosity, religion. While Einstein was visiting America in 1933,
the Nazi party came to power in Germany. Again he was subject to anti-Semitic
attacks, but this time his house was broken into, and he was publicly considered
an enemy of the nation. It was obvious that he could not return to Germany, and
for the second time, he renounced his German citizenship. During these early
years in America he did some research at Princeton, but did not accomplish much
of significance. In 1939, the Second World War started to take shape. There was
heated argument at this time over whether the United States should explore the
idea of an atomic bomb. Einstein wrote to President Roosevelt warning him of the
disaster that could occur if the Nazis developed it first. Einstein did not
participate in the development of the bomb, but the idea did stem from his very
famous equation. He figured that the bomb was under development, but he did not
know when it was going to be used. Right before the bomb was dropped on Japan,
Einstein wrote a letter to the President begging him not to use this terrible
weapon. The rest of Einstein’s life was dedicated to promoting peace. As soon as
the war was over, he declared, “The war is won, but the peace is not.” He wrote
many articles and many speeches calling for a world government. His fame at this
point was legendary. People from all over would write to him for advice, and he
would often answer them. He continued his scientific research until the very day
he died. This was on the sad day of April 18, 1955. There is no doubt in my mind
that he was dissatisfied that he was never able to find the true meaning of
existence that he strove for all his life!
Bibliography
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