Einstein
His Life and Universe
ÔªøCHAPTER ONE
THE LIGHT-BEAM RIDER
"I promise you four papers," the young patent examiner wrote his friend.
The letter would turn out to bear some of the most significant tidings
in the history of science, but its momentous nature was masked by an
impish tone that was typical of its author. He had, after all, just
addressed his friend as "you frozen whale" and apologized for writing a
letter that was "inconsequential babble." Only when he got around to
describing the papers, which he had produced during his spare time, did
he give some indication that he sensed their significance.
"The first deals with radiation and the energy properties of light and
is very revolutionary," he explained. Yes, it was indeed revolutionary.
It argued that light coul ... read full excerpt from Einstein: His Life and Universe ebook
