Debunking the Myth: Einstein’s Brilliance without Mileva
Imagine young Einstein at 26, publishing four groundbreaking research papers in 1905, in a span of few months and each paper revolutionizing the world of Physics. It included papers on Photoelectric effect, Brownian motion, Special Relativity and the famous equation E=mc². This fundamentally transformed our scientific understanding of light, matter, energy, space, time and motion. Though each paper was of immense importance, Einstein’s name became synonymous with the theory of relativity. His explanation of Photoelectric effect, remembered for its simplicity, earned him the Nobel Prize in 1921 because of its applications and profound influence on future science. The entire scientific community read these papers with stunned amazement. Though the ideas had yet to stand the test of experiments, they bore the stamp of a genius. Top scientists were eager to meet and invite this young man.
A new era of Physics called Modern Physics came into existence. The year 1905 came to be remembered as Einstein’s miraculous year or annus mirabilis in the history of science. UNESCO declared 2005, the International Year of Physics, to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Einstein’s great work.
Einstein had a love marriage with his Serbian classmate Mileva Maric, and they lived together from 1903. After examining biographies, there are claims by many scholars suggesting that she contributed substantially to his 1905 papers, given her background in Mathematics and Physics. They contend that she deserved substantial credit for the Theory of Relativity that was overlooked. Some argue that her intellectual partnership with Einstein played a crucial role during his most productive years. Some say that once Mileva was no longer part of Einstein’s life, his scientific output declined. They believe that the latter half of Einstein’s career was largely devoted to the unified field theory, where he failed. There are letters and testimonies providing some evidence of collaboration between the couple. Einstein’s letters are full of his ideas about Physics while Maric’s contain none. This extraordinary claim requires more evidence. This topic has generated considerable debate and controversy earlier but most physicists and historians have rejected it saying that it is a classical example of conspiracy of theorists questioning the legitimacy of great works. Newton died as bachelor; otherwise, his wife would have been credited having formulated his Gravitation Theory. Of course, Mileva deserves credit for supporting Einstein in these years.
It was April 1914 when Einstein moved to Berlin to take up the position as professor at Prussian Academy of Sciences with Mileva, along with their two sons (Hans Albert and Eduard), also joining him. With tensions in their relationships palpable, she returned to Zurich in July 1914, deeply emotional. From that point onwards, they never lived together again, although the formal divorce wasn’t finalized until February 1919. Free from teaching obligations, Einstein was deeply engaged in developing the General Theory of Relativity. For him, it was a period of intense intellectual effort, complex mathematical formulations and collaboration with mathematicians.
He published the complete General Theory of Relativity in November 1915 which stands as one of the most monumental achievements in the history of Physics. It was profound, elegant and deeply philosophical which changed our understanding about matter, space and time, the Big Bang and the black holes. The masterpiece introduced that gravity is the warping of space-time by mass and energy. From the bending of light by gravity to the detection of gravitational waves, this theory stands confirmed through experiments and observations.
Einstein was truly a great man. He would never have thought that one day his General Theory would be crucial for a pinpoint accuracy of the GPS system. Even his errors proved profoundly fruitful for scientists that opened vast new avenues for scientific progress. His skepticism on Quantum Mechanics or his so-called “greatest blunder” of cosmological constant, laid the groundwork for deeper scientific inquiry. Physicist George Gamow reports that “when I was discussing cosmological problems with Einstein, he once remarked that the introduction of the cosmological constant was the “biggest blunder” he ever made in his life”. Ironically, Einstein’s original gravity equations were correct; adding a cosmological constant in line with popular scientific opinion of static universe was his mistake. The cosmos was actually expanding as later confirmed by Edwin Hubble in 1929. Tampering with the natural logic of his equations was in conflict with his reverence for cosmic order. It was Einstein’s genius and fortune to have the cosmological constant modeled to explain the effects of dark energy. Though the nature of dark energy remains an open question, the cosmological constant remains a topic of active research.
Einstein, a pioneer who laid the foundations of Quantum Mechanics, had to oppose its later developments, only to reinforce the confirmations for its further progress. By proposing that light is made of photons which are discrete packets of energy called quanta, he established that light has dual nature. Einstein challenged its latter developments, particularly the ideas of probability and uncertainty proposed by Neil Bohr and Heisenberg. In 1935, Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen (EPR) proposed a thought experiment designed to challenge the completeness of Quantum Mechanics famously called EPR Paradox. Einstein used the term “spooky action at a distance” critically to describe what he saw as a flaw in Quantum Mechanics. He saw the absurdity in the idea that, observation creates reality, as suggested by the Copenhagen interpretation and asked a question “Do you really believe the Moon is not there when you’re not looking at it?” The EPR thought experiment raised deep questions but could not disprove the Copenhagen interpretation. While, Einstein may not have liked the outcome, it tested the reality of quantum theory.
Einstein was right when he said “God does not play dice with the universe” because we cannot directly observe the randomness at the microscopic scale of universe. But his work lead scientists to establish that in the microscopic world, the particles like electrons, photons etc exist in a superposition of states until measurements are done and the wave function collapses to one outcome. The “spooky action” was confirmed as quantum entanglement. Superposition and quantum entanglement are key principles in quantum computing today, opening a door to new technologies. In 1916, Einstein introduced the idea of stimulated emission which led to the invention of lasers that revolutionized various fields due to its precision, intensity and coherence. In 1924, with S. N. Bose, Einstein proposed the Bose-Einstein Condensate (BEC) which is recognized as the 5th state of matter.
It reveals the behavior of bosons, deepens our understanding of quantum mechanics and the phenomena like superfluidity and superconductivity which hold vast promise for advanced technologies. The Condensate was experimentally observed in 1995, earning Nobel Prize, when Bose and Einstein stand its true pioneers.
Einstein always felt to find a single, all-encompassing theory that would explain the whole universe and he spent his twilight years for unification of gravity and electromagnetism. Though he didn’t succeed but it laid the groundwork and inspired generations of physicists to pursue the dream. Since then, two of the four fundamental forces electromagnetism and the weak nuclear force have been successfully unified. Einstein’s contributions stand out as truly groundbreaking, even when his first wife Mileva was no longer part of his life. He must be credited for his so-called failures, for they were bold intellectual leaps; otherwise, scientists might never have ventured into these mysteries.
Beyond science, Einstein wrote extensively on philosophy, religion, ethics and spiritual dimensions of science. His writings on the philosophy of religion reveal a deep intellectual and emotional engagement with questions that lie at the heart of human existence. As an unworldly man, he saw himself as a human being first and a scientist latter. Perhaps, no other scientist in history has matched his depth, originality and impact.
Prof. (Dr.) Mohd Amin Malik, Principal, Government Degree College, Higher Education Department, J&K
