Einstein and the Quantum

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Einstein and the Quantum Page 34

by Stone, A. Douglas

47The situation with the private lessons: Einstein to Mileva Maric, November 1901, CPAE, vol. 1, doc. 136, p. 181.

  47It is true … that it is very nice: Einstein to Mileva Maric, 17 February 1902, CPAE, vol. 1, doc. 137, p. 193.

  47testifying to great poverty: Folsing, Albert Einstein, 97.

  47annoying business of starving: Einstein to Mileva Maric, May 1901, CPAE, vol. 1, doc. 110, p. 173.

  48leads a very pleasant: Einstein to Michele Besso, 22 January 1903, CPAE, vol. 2, doc. 5, p. 7.

  49the resemblance is downright: Folsing, Albert Einstein, 110.

  49not have published those papers: Ibid., 109.

  50[Hendrik] Lorentz, I never met: Pais, Subtle Is the Lord, 73.

  CHAPTER 7. DIFFICULT COUNTING

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  55The Second Law of Thermodynamics has: Maxwell to Rayleigh, in James Gerald Crowther, Scientific Types (New York: Dufour, 1970), 67.

  55lively beings incapable of doing work: Tolstoy, Maxwell, 136.

  55to show that the Second Law: Ibid., 137.

  56I derive an expression for the entropy: Albert Einstein, “On the General Molecular Theory of Heat” [original article no. 5 in References], reprinted in CPAE, vol. 2, doc. 5, p. 68.

  59an act of desperation: Hermann, Genesis of Quantum Theory, 23.

  59We consider, however: Planck, “On the Theory of the Energy Distribution Law,” 84.

  61Dividing E by ε: Ibid.

  CHAPTER 8. THOSE FABULOUS MOLECULES

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  63those happy Bernese years: Ann. M. Hentschel and Gerd Grasshoff, Albert Einstein: Those Happy Bernese Years (Bern: Staempfli, 2005), title page.

  63struck by the extraordinary brilliance: Isaacson, Einstein, 80.

  63laughed so much: Roger Highfield and Paul Carter, The Private Lives of Albert Einstein (London: Faber & Faber, 1993), 102.

  65To the immortal Olympia Academy: Einstein to Solovine and Habicht, 3 April 1953, in Banesh Hoffmann with the collaboration of Helen Dukas, Albert Einstein: Creator and Rebel (New York: Viking Press, 1972), 244.

  66completely useless … an awful schlemiel … [Besso] has: Isaacson, Albert Einstein, 62.

  66could not have found a better: Seelig, Albert Einstein, 71.

  66Dear Habicht, such a solemn air: Einstein to Habicht, 18 or 25 May 1905, CPAE, vol. 5, doc. 27, p. 20.

  CHAPTER 9. TRIPPING THE LIGHT HEURISTIC

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  70The wave [Maxwell] theory: Albert Einstein, “On a Heuristic Point of View concerning the Production and Transformation of Light” [original article no. 6 in References], reprinted in CPAE, vol. 2, doc. 14, p. 86.

  70the most revolutionary sentence: Folsing, Albert Einstein, 143.

  72within a few hours (quoted in footnote): Ibid., 71.

  73On my side, I have been: Besso to Einstein, 17 January 1928, Einstein Besso Correspondance, 1903–1955, trans. Pierre Speziali (Paris: Hermann, 1972), 225.

  73Planck’s formula for ρ(ν): Einstein, “On a Heuristic Point of View,” 90.

  76Morbid dread of mistakes (quoted in footnote): Crowther, Scientific Types, 58.

  77it makes no difference: Ibid., 98.

  79As far as I can see: Einstein, “On a Heuristic Point of View,” 101.

  CHAPTER 10. ENTERTAINING THE CONTRADICTION

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  80I do not seek the meaning: Planck to Einstein, 6 July 1907, CPAE, vol. 5, doc. 47, p. 31.

  80It is a real pity: Lorentz to Einstein, 6 May 1909, CPAE, vol. 5, doc. 153, p. 107.

  83Take electricity out: Folsing, Albert Einstein, 159.

  84But such a thing does not seem to exist: Ibid., 165.

  84The introduction of a ‘light ether’: Einstein, “On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies” [original article no. 7 in References], reprinted in CPAE, vol. 2, doc. 23, p. 141.

  85one can obtain a satisfactory theory: Einstein, “On the Development of Our Views concerning the Nature and Constitution of Radiation” [original article no. 11 in References], reprinted in CPAE, vol. 2, doc. 60, p. 383.

  CHAPTER 11. STALKING THE PLANCK

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  86The three of us are fine: Einstein to Solovine, 27 April 1906, CPAE, vol. 5, doc. 36, p. 25.

  86a respectable federal ink pisser: Einstein to Alfred Schnauder, 5 January–11 May 1907, CPAE, vol. 5, doc. 43, p. 28.

  88It is largely due to: Folsing, Albert Einstein, 201.

  89simply a systematic … There has been a false: Ibid., 211.

  89but more urgent than: Planck to Einstein, 6 July 1907, CPAE, vol. 5, doc. 47, p. 31.

  90sufficient to account for all: Einstein, “On a Heuristic Point of View,” 90.

  90In a study published last year: Albert Einstein, “On the Theory of Light Production and Light Absorption” [original article no. 8 in References], reprinted in CPAE, vol. 2, doc. 34, p. 192.

  92Hence we must view the following proposition: Ibid., 195.

  92For if the energy of a resonator … In my opinion: Ibid., 196.

  CHAPTER 12. CALAMITY JEANS

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  95the domain of natural sciences: J. J. O’Connor and E. F. Roberston, “Presidential Address to the British Association in Montreal in 1884,” last modified February 2005, accessed 20 February 2009, http://www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk./Biographies/Rayleigh.html.

  95little more than a conjecture: Lord Rayleigh, “Remarks upon the Law of Complete Radiation” [original article no. 3 in References], reprinted in Scientific Papers by Lord Rayleigh, vol. 6, doc. 260, p. 483.

  97what would appear to be wanted: Lord Rayleigh, “The Law of Partition of Kinetic Energy” [original article no. 5 in References], reprinted in Scientific Papers by Lord Rayleigh, vol. 6, doc. 253, p. 451.

  98the question is one to be settled: Rayleigh, “Remarks upon the Law,” 484.

  98although for some reason: Ibid.

  99If an interaction between aether and matter: Hermann, Genesis of Quantum Theory, 33.

  100We can now trace the course: Ibid.

  102he is the model of the theorist: Planck to Wien, 27 February 1909, in Heilbron, Dilemmas of an Upright Man, 8.

  CHAPTER 13. FROZEN VIBRATIONS

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  103The whole thing started: “Peter J. W. Debye: An Interview,” Science, vol. 145, p. 554 (1964).

  103one is allowed to infer: Pais, Subtle Is the Lord, 390.

  104difficulty and expense: Ibid.

  106through the diamond experiment: Diana Kormos Barkan, Walther Nernst and the Transition to Modern Physical Science (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999), 163.

  106sunk back into the sea: Einstein to Mileva Maric, April 4 1901, CPAE, vol. 1, doc. 96, p. 162.

  107For although one has thought before: Albert Einstein, “Planck’s Theory of Radiation and the Theory of Specific Heat,” Annalen der Physik, vol. 22, pp. 180–190 (1907), reprinted in CPAE, vol. 2, doc. 38, p. 218.

  107I believe we must not content ourselves: Ibid., 218–219.

  110most certainly there could exist: A. Einstein, “Correction to my Paper, ‘Planck’s Theory of Heat Radiation, etc.,’ ” CPAE, vol. 2, doc. 42, p. 233.

  CHAPTER 14. PLANCK’S NOBEL NIGHTMARE

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  111The two constants: Hermann, Genesis of Quantum Theory, 11.

  112sacrifice him: Patrick Coffey, Cathedrals of Science (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008), 3.

  113[Arrhenius] is somewhat corpulent: Ibid., 17.

  113pronounced hostility toward atomism: Elisabeth Crawford, “Arrhenius, the Atomic Hypothesis, and the 1908 Nobel Prizes in Physics and Chemistry,” Isis, vol. 75, p. 510 (1984).

  114he had seen many transmutations (quoted in footnote): Pierre Marage and Gregoire Wallenborn, eds., The Solvay Councils and the Birth of Modern Physics, Science Networks, vol. 22 (Basel: Birkauser Verlag, 1999), 118.

  115To conclude, I may point to: Planck, “On the Theory of the Energy Distribution Law,” 82–90.

  115If the theory is at all correct: Ibid.

  116concer
n for a physics: Heilbron, Dilemmas of an Upright Man, 54.

  116I could derive some satisfaction: Hermann, Genesis of Quantum Theory, 21.

  117made it extremely plausible: Ibid., 362.

  117it is very far from being: Bengt Nagel, “The Discussion concerning the Nobel Prize for Max Planck,” in Science, Technology and Society in the Time of Alfred Nobel: Nobel Symposium 52, ed. C. G. Bernhard, E. Crawford, and P. Sorbom (New York: Pergamon Press, 1982), 361.

  118[if true] I presume: Crawford, “Arrhenius, the Atomic Hypothesis, and the 1908 Nobel Prizes,” 519.

  118Einstein simply postulates: Folsing, Albert Einstein, 215.

  118Everything which emanated: H. A. Lorentz, Impressions of His Life and Work, ed. G. L. de Haas-Lorentz (Amsterdam: North-Holland, 1957), 8.

  119Whatever was accepted by Lorentz: Hermann, Genesis of Quantum Theory, 45.

  119wrestled continuously: Lorentz to Wien, 6 June 1908, ibid., 34.

  119The theory of Planck is the only one: Ibid., 37.

  120If we examine the Jeans-Lorentz formula: Ibid., 40.

  120I was extremely disappointed: Wien to Sommerfeld, 18 May 1908, ibid., 39–40.

  120thus we should really dismiss: Lorentz to Wien, 6 June 1908, ibid., 41.

  121a completely new hypothesis: Nagel, “The Discussion concerning the Nobel Prize for Max Planck, 363.

  121It is I, along with Phragmen: Ibid.

  CHAPTER 15. JOINING THE UNION

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  122So, now I too am an official: Einstein to Jakob Laub, 19 May 1909, CPAE, vol. 5, doc. 161, p. 120.

  122I must tell you quite frankly: Laub to Einstein, 1 May 1908, CPAE vol. 5, doc. 91, p. 63.

  123a few old fogies: Einstein to Besso, 6 March 1952, ibid.

  123pigsty: Einstein to Besso, 7 March 1903, in Folsing, Albert Einstein, 228.

  123I can’t understand a word: Seelig, Albert Einstein, 88.

  124[Einstein] will most likely: F. Adler to V. Adler, 19 June 1908, in Folsing, Albert Einstein, 247.

  124I was really lucky: Einstein to Laub, CPAE, 19 May, vol. 5, doc. 161, p. 120. I have used the Folsing translation.

  125impression of a colonel: “Sommerfeld, Arnold (Johannes Wilhelm),” Complete Dictionary of Scientific Biography (2008), Encyclopedia.com, http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-2830904080.html, accessed February 4, 2013.

  126we are now all longing: Arnold Sommerfeld to Hendrik Lorentz, 26 December 1907, Folsing, Albert Einstein, 203.

  126Your letter made me uncommonly happy: Einstein to Sommerfeld, 14 January 1908, CPAE, vol. 5, doc. 72, p. 5.

  126I believe that we are still: Einstein to Sommerfeld, CPAE, vol. 5, doc. 72, p. 5.

  127There can be no doubt: Albert Einstein, “On the Present Status of the Radiation Problem” [original article no. 10 in References], reprinted in CPAE, vol. 2, doc. 56, pp. 360–361.

  127Though every physicist: Ibid., 363.

  127In my opinion, the last: Ibid., 369.

  127the fundamental [Maxwell] equation: Ibid., 374.

  128I am ceaselessly concerned: Einstein to Laub, 17 May 1909, CPAE, vol. 2, doc. 160, p. 119.

  CHAPTER 16. CREATIVE FUSION

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  129I am very sorry: Einstein to George Meyer, 7 June 1909, CPAE, vol. 2, doc. 166, p. 167.

  129Your postcard made me: Einstein to Anna Meyer-Schmid, 12 May 1909, CPAE, vol. 5, doc. 154, p. 115.

  130With that kind of fame: Isaacson, Einstein, 154.

  130That’s not true, Herr Einstein: Seelig, Albert Einstein, 92.

  130my lectures keep me very busy: Einstein to Besso, 17 November 1909, CPAE, vol. 5, doc. 187, p. 140.

  131I am sending you a short paper: Einstein to Lorentz, 30 March 1909, CPAE, vol. 5, doc. 146, p. 105.

  131a real event: Einstein to Lorentz, 13 April 1909, CPAE, vol. 5, doc. 149, p. 106.

  132their existence [free electrons] in metals: Lorentz to Einstein, 6 May 1909, CPAE, vol. 5, doc. 153, p. 108.

  132If one regards h: Ibid., 110.

  132The individuality of each: Ibid., 112.

  132as soon as one makes: Ibid., 113.

  132permit me to say: Ibid., 114.

  133I am presently carrying on: Einstein to Laub, 19 May 1909, ibid., 119.

  134My work on light quanta: Ibid.

  134delighted … the difficulty of generalizing: Einstein to Lorentz, 23 May 1909, CPAE, vol. 5, doc. 163, p. 122.

  134I consider it a great blessing: Ibid.

  135energy elements … play a certain: Planck to Lorentz, 10 July 1909, in Hermann, Genesis of Quantum Theory, 41.

  135stubbornly opposes: Einstein to Johannes Stark, 31 July 1909, CPAE, vol. 2, doc. 172, p. 129.

  135The quarrel between Stark and Sommerfeld (quoted in footnote): Einstein to Laub, 16 March 1910, CPAE, vol. 2, doc. 199, p. 148.

  136one of the turning points: Folsing, Einstein, 257.

  136Once it has been recognized … However, today we must: Einstein, “On the Development of Our Views,” 379.

  137It is therefore my opinion that the next stage: Ibid.

  137Regarding our conception of the structure of light: Ibid., 386.

  138to accept Planck’s theory: Ibid., 390.

  138Isn’t it conceivable: Ibid.

  139The forces of pressure exerted: Ibid., 391.

  140it has not yet been possible: Ibid., 394.

  140listening with greatest interest: “Discussion Following the Lecture: On the Development of Our Views concerning the Nature and Constitution of Radiation” [original article no. 12 in References], reprinted in CPAE, vol. 2, doc. 61, pp. 395–396.

  140It had no [great effect]: Hermann, Genesis of Quantum Theory, 68.

  CHAPTER 17. THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING NERNST

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  141I visited Prof. Einstein in Zurich: W. Nernst to A. Schuster, 10 March 1910, in Barkan, Walther Nernst, 183.

  141Einstein’s achievement received its seal: Folsing, Albert Einstein, 257.

  142the best that any laboratory practitioner: Coffey, Cathedrals of Science, 18.

  142fishlike mouth; … in the main, popular…; and the Perrin anecdote: Robert A. Millikan, “A Great Physicist Passes,” Scientific Monthly, vol. 54, pp. 84–86 (1942).

  142his truly amazing scientific instinct: Albert Einstein, “The Work and Personality of Walther Nernst,” Scientific Monthly, vol. 54, pp. 195–196 (1942).

  144How much did you get: Coffey, Cathedrals of Science, 29–30.

  144versatile, many-faceted: Barkan, Walther Nernst, 148.

  144Kommerzienrat: Phillip Frank, Einstein: His Life and Times, trans. George Rosen, ed. Schuichi Kusaka (New York: Da Capo Press, 1947), 107.

  146rather shabby attire: Seelig, Albert Einstein, 100.

  146I am most interested in the associate professor: George Bredig to Arrhenius, in Barkan, Walther Nernst, 183–4.

  146made Einstein famous: Kuhn, Black-Body Theory, 215.

  147I visited Prof. Einstein … “a beautiful memory”: Nernst to A. Schuster, 10 March 1910, in Barkan, Walther Nernst, 183.

  147The specific heat decreases (quoted in footnote): 17 February 1910, ibid., 167.

  148I have made inquiries: W. Nernst postcard, recipient unknown, 31 July 1910, ibid.

  148For me the theory of quanta: Einstein to Laub, 16 March 1910, CPAE, vol. 5, doc. 199, pp. 148–149.

  148It seems incontrovertible: Einstein to Sommerfeld, July 1910, CPAE, vol. 5, doc. 211, p. 157.

  148The crucial point in the whole question: Ibid.

  CHAPTER 18. LAMENTING THE RUINS

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  149As for knowing, nobody knows anything: Einstein to Zangger, 15 November 1911, CPAE, vol. 5, doc. 305, p. 221.

  149I decided to take as my starting point: Marage and Wallenborn, eds., Solvay Councils, 10–11.

  150the report he was good enough to send: Ibid., 95.

  151chasing after modernity: Folsing, Albert Einstein, 273.

  151in boldness [surpassing] anything: Folsing, Albert Einstein, 2
71.

  151great theoretical papers in the area of thermodynamics (quoted in footnote): Emil Fischer to Einstein, October–November 1910, CPAE, vol. 5, doc. 230, p. 165.

  152the air is full of soot: Einstein to Hans Tanner, 24 April 1911, CPAE, vol. 5, doc. 265, p. 186.

  152semi-barbaric: Einstein to Zangger, 20 September 1911, CPAE, vol. 5, doc. 286, p. 207.

  152a good thing for the Polytechnic: Einstein to Zangger, date unknown (after 5 June 1912), Folsing, Albert Einstein, 79.

  153as soon as one makes even the slightest: Lorentz to Einstein, 6 May 1909, CPAE, vol. 5, doc. 153, p. 113.

  153it has not been possible to formulate: Einstein, “On the Development of Our Views,” 394.

  153I have not yet arrived at solution: Einstein to Laub, 31 December 1909, CPAE, vol. 5, doc. 196, p. 146.

  153maybe the electron is not: Einstein to Sommerfeld, 19 January 1910, CPAE, vol. 5, doc. 197, pp. 146–147.

  154[a] crudely materialistic conception: Einstein to Sommerfeld, July 1910, CPAE, vol. 5, doc. 211, p. 157.

  154I have not made any progress: Einstein to Laub, 27 August 1910, CPAE, vol. 5, doc. 224, p. 162.

  154At the moment I am very hopeful: Einstein to Laub, 4 November 1910, CPAE, vol. 5, doc. 231, p. 166.

  154The solution of the radiation problem: Einstein to Laub, 11 November 1910, CPAE, vol. 5, doc. 233, p. 167.

  154the riddle of radiation: Einstein to Laub, 28 December 1910, CPAE, vol. 5, doc. 241, p. 141.

  155the so-called quantum theory of today: Barkan, Walther Nernst, 165.

  156I no longer ask whether these quanta: Einstein to Besso, 13 May 1911, CPAE, vol. 5, doc. 267, p. 187.

  157Dear Sir, To all appearances: Ernest Solvay to Einstein, 9 June 1911, CPAE, vol. 5, doc. 269, pp. 190–191.

  157The relativistic treatment of gravitation: Einstein to Laub, 10 August 1911, CPAE, vol. 5, doc. 275, p. 197.

  157If my answer is not … thorough: Folsing, Albert Einstein, 285.

  157We stand here before an unsolved puzzle: Albert Einstein, “On the Present State of the Problem of Specific Heats” [original article no. 13 in References], reprinted in CPAE, vol. 2, doc. 26, pp. 419–420.

  158H. A. Lorentz chaired the conference: Einstein to Zangger, 7 November 1911, CPAE, vol. 5, doc. 303, pp. 219–220.

  158he is a completely honest man: Ibid., 220.

 

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