How much do you know about Albert Einstein?
Everyone knows his hair and his famous equation. These six questions, from easy to hard, reveal the real story of history's most famous scientist.
Did you know?
- Einstein's theory of general relativity predicted gravitational waves in 1916. They were detected directly for the first time in 2015, nearly a century later, by the LIGO observatories in the United States.
- The element einsteinium, number 99 on the periodic table, is named after him. It was discovered in the debris of the first hydrogen bomb test in 1952 and named in his honour a few years later.
- Einstein did not learn to drive and often walked to work in Princeton. Local residents became used to seeing him on the streets, sometimes stopping to help children with their homework.
Einstein beyond the equation
Albert Einstein is famous for relativity and the equation E=mc², but his work also helped lay the foundations of quantum physics. He became a global celebrity in 1919, when observations of a solar eclipse supported his theory that gravity bends light. From then on, his face became a symbol of genius.
Thinking in pictures
Einstein often solved problems through 'thought experiments' — imagining situations such as chasing a beam of light or riding in a falling lift. These mental pictures led him to surprising conclusions about space, time and gravity. He described imagination as more important than knowledge, because it allowed scientists to ask questions that data alone could not suggest.
Relativity in everyday life
Relativity is not just theory. Satellites used for GPS must correct their clocks for effects predicted by Einstein: time runs slightly differently for clocks moving fast and for clocks further from Earth's gravity. Without these corrections, GPS positions would drift by kilometres every day, making phone navigation useless.
A late start and a long influence
Einstein struggled at first to find an academic job after university, which is why he worked at the patent office. Only after his 1905 papers became known did universities offer him positions. He later worked in Berlin and then at Princeton in the United States, where he lived until his death in 1955.
A voice beyond physics
Einstein used his fame to speak about education, curiosity and the responsibility of scientists. He answered thousands of letters, including many from children asking about science. He encouraged students to question accepted ideas, and his remark that curiosity has its own reason for existing is often quoted by teachers. His letters and notes, now archived at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, continue to be studied by historians.