A Short History of Nearly Everything-第23章

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while；　the　michelson…morley　experiments　would　hover　unpleasantly；　like　a　mustysmell；　in　the　background　of　scientific　thought。

remarkably；　and　despite　his　findings；　when　the　twentieth　century　dawned　michelsoncounted　himself　among　those　who　believed　that　the　work　of　science　was　nearly　at　an　end；with　“only　a　few　turrets　and　pinnacles　to　be　added；　a　few　roof　bosses　to　be　carved；”　in　thewords　of　a　writer　in　nature。

in　fact；　of　course；　the　world　was　about　to　enter　a　century　of　science　where　many　peoplewouldn’t　understand　anything　and　none　would　understand　everything。　scientists　would　soonfind　themselves　adrift　in　a　bewildering　realm　of　particles　and　antiparticles；　where　things　popin　and　out　of　existence　in　spans　of　time　that　make　nanoseconds　look　plodding　and　uneventful；where　everything　is　strange。　science　was　moving　from　a　world　of　macrophysics；　whereobjects　could　be　seen　and　held　and　measured；　to　one　of　microphysics；　where　events　transpirewith　unimaginable　swiftness　on　scales　far　below　the　limits　of　imagining。　we　were　about　toenter　the　quantum　age；　and　the　first　person　to　push　on　the　door　was　the　so…far　unfortunatemax　planck。

in　1900；　now　a　theoretical　physicist　at　the　university　of　berlin　and　at　the　somewhatadvanced　age　of　forty…two；　planck　unveiled　a　new　“quantum　theory；”　which　posited　thatenergy　is　not　a　continuous　thing　like　flowing　water　but　es　in　individualized　packets；which　he　called　quanta。　this　was　a　novel　concept；　and　a　good　one。　in　the　short　term　it　wouldhelp　to　provide　a　solution　to　the　puzzle　of　the　michelson…morley　experiments　in　that　itdemonstrated　that　light　needn’t　be　a　wave　after　all。　in　the　longer　term　it　would　lay　thefoundation　for　the　whole　of　modern　physics。　it　was；　at　all　events；　the　first　clue　that　the　worldwas　about　to　change。

but　the　landmark　event—the　dawn　of　a　new　age—came　in　1905；　when　there　appeared　inthe　german　physics　journal　annalen　der　physik　a　series　of　papers　by　a　young　swissbureaucrat　who　had　no　university　affiliation；　no　access　to　a　laboratory；　and　the　regular　use　ofno　library　greater　than　that　of　the　national　patent　office　in　bern；　where　he　was　employed　as　atechnical　examiner　third　class。　（an　application　to　be　promoted　to　technical　examiner　secondclass　had　recently　been　rejected。）his　name　was　albert　einstein；　and　in　that　one　eventful　year　he　submitted　to　annalen　derphysik　five　papers；　of　which　three；　according　to　c。　p。　snow；　“were　among　the　greatest　in　thehistory　of　physics”—one　examining　the　photoelectric　effect　by　means　of　planck’s　newquantum　theory；　one　on　the　behavior　of　small　particles　in　suspension　（what　is　known　asbrownian　motion）；　and　one　outlining　a　special　theory　of　relativity。

the　first　won　its　author　a　nobel　prize　and　explained　the　nature　of　light　（and　also　helped　tomake　television　possible；　among　other　things）。

3the　second　provided　proof　that　atoms　doindeed　exist—a　fact　that　had；　surprisingly；　been　in　some　dispute。　the　third　merely　changedthe　world。

einstein　was　born　in　ulm；　in　southern　germany；　in　1879；　but　grew　up　in　munich。　little　inhis　early　life　suggested　the　greatness　to　e。　famously　he　didn’t　learn　to　speak　until　he　wasthree。　in　the　1890s；　his　father’s　electrical　business　failing；　the　family　moved　to　milan；　butalbert；　by　now　a　teenager；　went　to　switzerland　to　continue　his　education—though　he　failedhis　college　entrance　exams　on　the　first　try。　in　1896　he　gave　up　his　german　citizenship　toavoid　military　conscription　and　entered　the　zurich　polytechnic　institute　on　a　four…year　coursedesigned　to　churn　out　high　school　science　teachers。　he　was　a　bright　but　not　outstandingstudent。

in　1900　he　graduated　and　within　a　few　months　was　beginning　to　contribute　papers　toannalen　der　physik。　his　very　first　paper；　on　the　physics　of　fluids　in　drinking　straws　（of　allthings）；　appeared　in　the　same　issue　as　planck’s　quantum　theory。　from　1902　to　1904　heproduced　a　series　of　papers　on　statistical　mechanics　only　to　discover　that　the　quietlyproductive　j。　willard　gibbs　in　connecticut　had　done　that　work　as　well；　in　his　elementaryprinciples　of　statistical　mechanics　of　1901。

at　the　same　time　he　had　fallen　in　love　with　a　fellow　student；　a　hungarian　named　milevamaric。　in　1901　they　had　a　child　out　of　wedlock；　a　daughter；　who　was　discreetly　put　up　foradoption。　einstein　never　saw　his　child。　two　years　later；　he　and　maric　were　married。　inbetween　these　events；　in　1902；　einstein　took　a　job　with　the　swiss　patent　office；　where　hestayed　for　the　next　seven　years。　he　enjoyed　the　work：　it　was　challenging　enough　to　engage　hismind；　but　not　so　challenging　as　to　distract　him　from　his　physics。　this　was　the　backgroundagainst　which　he　produced　the　special　theory　of　relativity　in　1905。

called　“on　the　electrodynamics　of　moving　bodies；”　it　is　one　of　the　most　extraordinaryscientific　papers　ever　published；　as　much　for　how　it　was　presented　as　for　what　it　said。　it　hadno　footnotes　or　citations；　contained　almost　no　mathematics；　made　no　mention　of　any　workthat　had　influenced　or　preceded　it；　and　acknowledged　the　help　of　just　one　individual；　a3einstein　was　honored；　somewhat　vaguely；　〃for　services　to　theoretical　physics。〃　he　had　to　wait　sixteen　years；　till1921；　to　receive　the　award…quite　a　long　time；　all　things　considered；　but　nothing　at　all　pared　with　frederickreines；　who　detected　the　neutrino　in　1957　but　wasnt　honored　with　a　nobel　until　1995；　thirty…eight　years　later；　orthe　german　ernst　ruska；　who　invented　the　electron　microscope　in　1932　and　received　his　nobel　prize　in　1986；more　than　half　a　century　after　the　fact。　since　nobel　prizes　are　never　awarded　posthumously；　longevity　can　be　asimportant　a　factor　as　ingenuity　for　prizewinners。

colleague　at　the　patent　office　named　michele　besso。　it　was；　wrote　c。　p。　snow；　as　if　einstein“had　reached　the　conclusions　by　pure　thought；　unaided；　without　listening　to　the　opinions　ofothers。　to　a　surprisingly　large　extent；　that　is　precisely　what　he　had　done。”

his　famous　equation；　e　=mc2；　did　not　appear　with　the　paper；　but　came　in　a　brief　supplementthat　followed　a　few　months　later。　as　you　will　recall　from　school　days；　e　in　the　equation　standsfor　energy；　m　for　mass；　and　c2for　the　speed　of　light　squared。

in　simplest　terms；　what　the　equation　says　is　that　mass　and　energy　have　an　equivalence。

they　are　two　forms　of　the　same　thing：　energy　is　liberated　matter；　matter　is　energy　waiting　tohappen。　since　c2（the　speed　of　light　times　itself）　is　a　truly　enormous　number；　what　theequation　is　saying　is　that　there　is　a　huge　amount—a　really　huge　amount—of　energy　bound　upin　every　material　thing。

4you　may　not　feel　outstandingly　robust；　but　if　you　are　an　average…sized　adult　you　willcontain　within　your　modest　frame　no　less　than　7　x　1018joules　of　potential　energy—enough　toexplode　with　the　force　of　thirty　very　large　hydrogen　bombs；　assuming　you　knew　how　toliberate　it　and　really　wished　to　make　a　point。　everything　has　this　kind　of　energy　trappedwithin　it。　we’re　just　not　very　good　at　getting　it　out。　even　a　uranium　bomb—the　mostenergetic　thing　we　have　produced　yet—releases　less　than　1　percent　of　the　energy　it　couldrelease　if　only　we　were　more　cunning。

among　much　else；　einstein’s　theory　explained　how　radiation　worked：　how　a　lump　ofuranium　could　throw　out　constant　streams　of　high…level　energy　without　melting　away　like　anice　cube。　（it　could　do　it　by　converting　mass　to　energy　extremely　efficiently　à　lae　=mc2。）　itexplained　how　stars　could　burn　for　billions　of　years　without　racing　through　their　fuel。　（ditto。）at　a　stroke；　in　a　simple　formula；　einstein　endowed　geologists　and　astronomers　with　theluxury　of　billions　of　years。　above　all；　the　special　theory　showed　that　the　speed　of　light　wasconstant　and　supreme。　nothing　could　overtake　it。　it　brought　light　（no　pun　intended；　exactly）　tothe　very　heart　of　our　understanding　of　the　nature　of　the　universe。　not　incidentally；　it　alsosolved　the　problem　of　the　luminiferous　ether　by　making　it　clear　that　it　didn’t　exist。　einsteingave　us　a　universe　that　didn’t　need　it。

physicists　as　a　rule　are　not　overattentive　to　the　pronouncements　of　swiss　patent　officeclerks；　and　so；　despite　the　abundance　of　useful　tidings；　einstein’s　papers　attracted　little　notice。

having　just　solved　several　of　the　deepest　mysteries　of　the　universe；　einstein　applied　for　a　jobas　a　university　lecturer　and　was　rejected；　and　then　as　a　high　school　teacher　and　was　rejectedthere　as　well。　so　he　went　back　to　his　job　as　an　examiner　third　class；　but　of　course　he　keptthinking。　he　hadn’t　even　e　close　to　finishing　yet。

when　the　poet　paul　valéry　once　asked　einstein　if　he　kept　a　notebook　to　record　his　ideas；einstein　looked　at　him　with　mild　but　genuine　surprise。　“oh；　that’s　not　necessary；”　he　replied。

“it’s　so　seldom　i　have　one。”　i　need　hardly　point　out　that　when　he　did　get　one　it　tended　to　begood。　einstein’s　next　idea　was　one　of　the　greatest　that　anyone　has　ever　had—indeed；　the　verygreatest；　according　to　boorse；　motz；　and　weaver　in　their　thoughtful　history　of　atomic　science。

4how　c　came　to　be　the　symbol　for　the　speed　of　light　is　something　of　a　mystery；　but　david　bodanis　suggests　itprobably　came　from　the　latin　celeritas；　meaning　swiftness。　the　relevant　volume　of　the　oxford　englishdictionary；　piled　a　decade　before　einsteins　theory；　recognizes　c　as　a　symbol　for　many　things；　fr