In 1905, the 26-year-old expert Albert Einstein published four scientific papers that changed the idea of the world. Since then, people began looking different both at the smallest particles of matter and on huge galaxies. Some of his conclusions formed the basis of many inventions that changed the life of humanity for the last hundred years. Many modern scholars argue that it is unlikely that in modern physics there is at least one fundamental position that would be to some extent not connected with the discovery of Einstein. This paper therefore discusses the works that Albert Einstein published in 1905 and the effect that these discoveries had on the existing ideas about the world.
Einstein’s work, published in March 1905, provided a better understanding of the nature of light. At that time, scientists already knew that light that moves in space is similar ripples on the surface of the water. However, the wave theory was unable to explain why in some metals, when exposed to ultraviolet radiation, there is an electric current, and under the influence of the infrared radiation there is no. In 1905, Einstein had developed the concept of the photoelectric effect, which managed to explain this phenomenon (Gluckman, 2012). Einstein argued that light can sometimes be regarded as small portions of energy, which later were called photons. When photons carry enough energy, that is, they have an appropriate frequency of oscillations (color), they can break electrons from the atoms of some metals (the photons of infrared light do not have such energy) (Gluckman, 2012). This interaction leads to the electric current passing the metal. Some of the modern devices, such as camera tubes, solar cells and exposure meters were created thanks to Einstein’s explanation of the photoelectric effect. In 1921, for explaining the nature of light, Einstein was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics (Weigel, 2007). His work made it possible to create a new theory called quantum. In turn, the quantum theory formed the basis of nuclear physics, electronics and nanotechnology.
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In 1905, Einstein also conducted a large-scale study of atoms and molecules. He found the theoretical explanation of the behavior of particles suspended in water. The chaotic movement in the water of these tiny particles was described in 1827 by biologist Robert Brown when he saw them under a microscope (Radcliff, 2008). He called this movement the Brownian motion, but he could not explain it. In May 1905, not only did Einstein calculate the size of water molecules, but also predicted the properties of atoms (Radcliff, 2008). Other scholars subsequently developed his conclusions, which in turn made it possible to eliminate doubts about the existence of atoms. This is why the basis of modern physics is the postulate that the whole matter consists of atoms.
Finally, the theory of relativity was formulated by Einstein in June 1905. It contradicted the basic notions of scientists, including Isaac Newton, who argues that the flow of time is constant at any point in the universe. The conclusions of the now accepted Einstein’s theory may seem rather weird. According to the theory, when approaching the speed of light, the flow of time slows significantly. In addition to this, objects in space become smaller and their mass increases. According to Einstein’s theory, it is not the time that always remains the same, but the speed of light.
In conclusion, 1905 is often called the year of revolution in the field of physics. During this time, thanks to Einstein, humanity obtained a better idea of the nature of light, the properties of atoms, and reached the seemingly irrational conclusion that it is not the time that always remains the same, but the speed of light.
