Category Great Scientist

From the age of 12 to 14, Einstein mastered integral and differential calculus by himself. As he showed immense interest and aptitude for maths and science, his father thought he should become an engineer. And Zurich Polytechnic (now Federal Institute of Technology, Switzerland) seemed like the best place to go for this. It had been one of the best scientific schools in Europe. Einstein went to Zurich to write the entrance exam. He performed well in science and maths but failed the foreign language section.

Einstein took the advice of the polytechnic school’s principal and joined the Old Cantonal School in Aarau, Switzerland, in 1895 and 1896 to finish his secondary schooling. In January 1896 Einstein gave up his citizenship in the German Kingdom of Wurttemberg to avoid military service. This was done with the approval of his father. In September 1896 he cleared the Swiss Matura exam with good marks. He scored the highest grade in science and mathematics.

Thus, Einstein became a student of the four-year mathematics and physics teaching diploma program in the Zurich Polytechnic School at the age of 17.

In 1894, Hermann and Jakob’s company lost a bid to supply electrical lighting to Munich city. This was because they didn’t have enough funds to convert their equipment from direct current (DC) to the more efficient alternating current (AC). Without the deal, they were forced to sell their factory in Munich and move to Italy in search of business. They first moved to Milan and then to Pavia. However, Einstein stayed back in Munich to complete his education at Luitpold Gymnasium.

He found it more difficult to cope with school after his family moved away. His attitude was so negative that a teacher suggested he leave. The teacher said that Albert’s presence adversely affected the other students. In December 1894 Einstein left the school and went to Pavia.

While in Italy, he penned the essay On the Investigation of the State of the Ether in a Magnetic Field. Einstein had always excelled in mathematics and physics and reached mathematical levels years ahead of his peers. At the age of twelve, Einstein had already discovered his own original proof of the Pythagorean Theorem and learned algebra and Euclidean geometry on his own.

A young medical student by the name Max Talmud was an informal tutor who introduced Einstein to higher mathematics and philosophy.

Talmud often had dinner in Einstein’s home and shared several books with him. Einstein loved reading these books and also discussed philosophical matters with Talmud. Quickly grasping the contents of the books, Einstein was soon baffling Talmud with his questions.

Once when Talmud gave 12-year-old Einstein a geometry textbook, he finished the entire book in a surprisingly short time. His mathematical genius was such that Talmud soon found himself unable to catch up.

A turning point in Einstein’s life was when he was 16. Talmud had introduced him to a children’s science series by Aaron Bernstein titled Naturwis-senschaftliche Volksbucher (popular Books on Physical Science). In the series, the author imagined himself travelling along-side the electricity coursing through a telegraph wire.

The question this image raised in young Einstein’s mind dominated his thoughts for the next decade. What would a beam of light look like if someone ran alongside it? A light beam should appear stationary if it was a wave. But even as a child he realized that stationary light waves haven’t been seen. This remained a paradox he tried to solve.

Einstein studied in a strict Catholic primary school where the students wore military type uniforms. Einstein was generally bored by the classes. Though he excelled in certain subjects like mathematics and Latin, his performance in other subjects was poor. Einstein’s teachers considered him to be a dreamy, absentminded child.

However, Jakob Einstein, Albert’s uncle discovered the boy’s latent brilliance when Albert was able to give his own mathematical proof of the Pythagorean Theorem. (Pythagoras was a Greek mathematician who lived in the 6th century BC.)

Albert’s parents encouraged him to ask questions and gave him many books to read. Eager to learn more, Albert taught himself advanced maths.

In 1894, Einstein began attending a secondary school at Munich’s Luitpold Gymnasium. The new school turned out to be stricter than his primary school.        

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Einstein’s mother bought a violin and hired a music teacher to give him lessons when he was six years old. Though he was not too eager to attend classes in the beginning, he soon came to love playing the violin. Einstein and his mother would play duets with her accompanying him on the piano.

His love for music stayed with him throughout his life. Einstein was often seen carrying his violin case during his time at Princeton. He would solve complex mathematical problems in his head while improvising on the violin he nicknamed Lina. Playing his violin alone or with others gave Einstein great pleasure and relaxation. He resolved many problems in his personal life and science by taking refuge in music.

Einstein was born on March 14, 1879, in Ulm, Wurttemberg, Germany. Though his parents were Jews they were not religious. This could have been a matter of survival in Germany at the time. Until a few years before Einstein’s birth, Jews were not even considered German citizens. Albert’s father Hermann Einstein had been a salesman and an engineer. Hermann and his brother started Elektrotechnische Fabrik J. Einstein & Cie, an electrical equipment manufacturing company based in Munich. Meanwhile, Einstein’s mother Pauline Koch ran the household.

The Einstein family shifted to Munich when Albert was a year old. Little Albert started speaking only at the age of three. He had a sister, Maja, two years younger to him. Maja recollects Albert’s intense concentration while building multiple-storied card houses.

Einstein mentions two events as having immense impact on his early years. The first was at the age of 5, when he saw a compass. He was puzzled to hear that some invisible forces could make the compass needle always point north. This marked the beginning of his lifelong fascination with invisible forces. The second event was his introduction to geometry at the age of 12.