The Life of Albert Einstein Part 3/4

Learn about Albert Einstein's life at the university and his interest in Zionism. You will also learn in this video how he came up with the general theory of relativity.

The Life of Albert Einstein Part ¾ In that year Einstein obtained a full time academic post at the University of Zurich teaching physics. Soon Albert and Mileva had a second child which they named Eduard, Einstein was soon discovering it was very difficult to find the spare time for his new ideas. He and Mileva were starting to grow apart under the strain. In 1912, with his reputation growing Einstein was appointed to a professorship at his old school the Zurich Polytechnic Institute. His coworker’s enjoyed his good sense of humor and down to earth ways. His students enjoyed his company as well. Finding him very easy to talk to, it was right around this time that Einstein first learned about Zionism. This was a growing movement to establish their Jewish homeland in Palestine in the Middle East. It would be a subject which Einstein would speak out on later in life but not for now. Physics was still his main cost. In 1914 Einstein moved to Berlin and was appointed to a professorship at the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Physics. His wife Mileva did not care for Berlin and she took her two sons back to Switzerland within a few months. Soon, World War One had begun with Germany and Austria fighting against France, England, and later the United States. Mileva stayed in neutral Switzerland during the war and because of her unhappy marriage with Albert, she never returned. In 1919, they were divorced. It was during World War One that Albert Einstein completed work on a theory that he had called” The happiest thought of my life.” This was the general Theory of Relativity and it would make him famous the world over. It showed that gravity like time is relative not absolute as sir Isaac Newton asserted. Einstein also discovered that gravity from very large objects such as stars could attract light and that these stars could actually bend light rays that passed close to them. This theory has helped scientist understand how gravity from stars affects the orbit of the planets. It also helped to explain the phenomenon of black holes. These are areas faraway in space or gravity is so strong that not even light can escape. This did not sit well with many leading scientist of the day. They wanted physical proof of Einstein’s theory. In 1919, they got it. It was during a solar eclipse on May 29, 1919 that photographs were taken in the southern hemisphere. The best place to see the eclipse. One set of photographs were taken showing the stars in the sky during the solar eclipse. Another set of photographs were taken showing the stars at night when the sun was not present. By comparing the two sets of photographs it was proven that the star light that pass the sun had been pulled very slightly toward it by the sun’s gravity. This was all the proof that Einstein needed. He was hailed throughout the world as a genius. It was also during 1919 that Einstein married his cousin Eliza Lowenthal. It would prove to be a long and happy marriage. In 1921, Albert and Elsa traveled the world. They were honored guest in England, France, Japan, and the United States where Einstein received numerous honors and awards. It was also in 1921, that Einstein was awarded the Nobel Prize for physics. This Prize was not for the Theory of Relativity but rather for his work on the photo electric effect from one of his famous 1905 papers. His Theory of Relativity was still considered controversial at the time of the award. Now, with the world following his every word, he began to speak out on Zionism and he wanted to help create a Hebrew University in Jerusalem where young Jews throughout the world could get a good education. In 1929, the great depression began in America and soon was affecting of Europe. As economic hardship spread throughout Germany, many started to blame the Jews for their troubles. Some even said that Einstein’s ideas where a Jewish plot to ruin Germany. It was while Albert and Elsa run a trip to the United States in 1933 that they learned of Adolf Hitler’s ceasing power in Germany. Hitler had wanted to create an area master race which did not include Jews. Public bone fires began with the burning of Jewish literature including copies of Einstein’s theories. Albert and Elsa decided no to go back to Germany and eventually made the United States their permanent new home. It is here in Princeton New Jersey that Einstein took a job at the Institute for Advance Studies. He and Elsa moved into a small white house at 112 Mercer Street and began a new life but all was not well for long. In 1936, Elsa Einstein died after a long illness. In the years that followed, he shared his home with his secretary Helen Dukas, his stepdaughter Margot and his sister Maja.