The year 2005 has been declared the World Year of Physics to coincide with the 100th anniversary of Einstein's so-called "miraculous year". In 1905, Einstein wrote a series of papers that changed the science of physics and our understanding of the world.
In March of that year, he showed that light can act as though made of
discrete particles rather than always as smooth, oscillating waves as then generally
pictured. In May, he showed that the long-known "Brownian motion", minute
jerky movements of small particles in liquid, were consistent with the theory that heat
was the result of agitated movements of atoms. In June he showed that the principle of
relativity applied to light, contrary to generally accepted scientific thought. In
September, he showed that mass is a direct measure of the energy contained in matter:
his famous E=mc2. Einstein's insights produced perhaps the most
remarkable single year in science. The nice thing about physics is, that although
Einstein produced his discoveries in Switzerland, the same physics works exactly the
same way everywhere, including in our Chihuahuan Desert.
Contributor: Arthur H. Harris, Laboratory for Environmental Biology, Centennial Museum, University of Texas at El Paso.
Desert Diary is a joint production of the Centennial Museum and KTEP National Public Radio at the University of Texas at El Paso.
Photograph of Albert Einstein by Oren Jack Turner. Courtesy of the Library of Congress.