The Aftermath

18.6. The Aftermath#

It might be worth reviewing a little of Einstein’s personal timeline since 1905.

  • 1906: Promoted to Technical Expert Second Class.

  • 1906: He published six papers.

  • 1907: He published 10 papers.

  • 1907: Establishes the Principle of Equivalence (stay tuned)

  • 1908: Turned down as a high school teacher and completes his habilitation thesis in order to qualify for entry university teaching.

  • 1908 (Finally) appointed as a lecturer at the University of Bern

  • 1908: Minkowski’s geometrical interpretation of Spacetime.

  • 1909: Resigns from the Patent Office(!)

  • 1909: Appointed Associate Professor of Theoretical Physics at the University of Zurich

During the years leading up to 1905 – five years – he worked alone, except for fruitful discussions with his Olympia Academy friends. He complains about not having access to any university library, so he cannot read scientific papers.

18.6.1. The Real Physics Olympia: Berlin#

Einstein’s devoted sister wrote that Einstein had hoped for some recognition: “…he was bitterly disappointed…icy silence followed the publications.”

In the western world at the turn of the 20th century, there was no institution that remotely compared with the University of Berlin. And there was no higher authority in physics, especially in Theoretical Physics, than the Professor of Theoretical Physics, Max Planck. I’ll have lots to say about Planck when we get to Quantum Theory, but suffice it to say, if there was ever an 800 pound gorilla in Theoretical Physics in 1905, it was Planck. That turns out to be important.

Planck was on the editorial board of the primary physics journal in the world, Annalen der Physik and was in charge of theoretical submissions. So all of Einstein’s 1905 papers required his approval. This would be hard to do today.

Einstein didn’t even qualify to be classified as prominent as “unknown”…he could not have been lower on any professional rung. He had no PhD. He had no scientific job. He suffered the opposite of good recommendations.

And yet, Max Planck took his papers seriously and by 1906, was giving seminars on Relativity and published a correct derivation of the relativistic momentum relation. He and Albert began corresponding. His “bitter disappointment” turned into enthusiasm. Planck publicly defended a subtle point of criticism of Relativity and Einstein joined in, along side of his senior correspondent. Planck replied in January of 1907 with:

“As long as the proponents of the principle of relativity constitute such a modest little band as is now the case…it is doubly important that they agree among themselves.”

Planck suggested that he would like to travel to Bern to meet Einstein in person. Planck could not make the trip and so he sent his assistant, Max Laue. It was only upon preparing to go to Bern that Laue (and Planck) discovered that Einstein was not at the University of Bern…nor at any university at all. When he got to the third floor of the Post and Telegraph building, “The young man who came to meet me made so unexpected impression on my that I did not believe he could possibly be the father of the relativity theory…so I let him pass.” Einstein wandered back through the reception area and they made contact.

They spent hours together and eventually Laue published eight papers himself on relativity and they became fast friends.

18.6.2. Nothing Is Simple#

The academic ladder in Europe at the time, and still in many places today, requires not only an original PhD degree, but a second PhD called the “habilitation.” Einstein didn’t want to bother, but failed at the high school job application that he made he succumbed to convention, qualifying for the degree at Bern. Soon a more prominent position opened at the University of Zurich where Alfred Kleiner persuaded the university to create a position in Theoretical Physics, albeit at the associate professor level. Two applied: Einstein, whom Kleiner knew and liked, and Friedrich Adler a friend of Einstein’s from their college days.

The job was to go to Adler, but he actually went to Kleiner to complain that it should instead go to Einstein. Einstein’s reputation for having zero people skills made that a difficult decision for Kleiner but he went to Bern to hear Einstein teach a class. It was terrible. Einstein knew it and regrettably word of it got out around Europe: Einstein was “a long way from being a teacher.” Einstein was furious and wrote to Kleiner complaining that vicious rumors were being spread about him. About Adler:

Note

Adler was an enigma, and a murderer. His father was a powerful official in the Austrian Social Democratic party, to which Friedrich was a zealot participant. In 1911 he gave up science to become a journalist and partisan. He was against the Austria-Hungary war policy and on October 21st in 1916 young Adler calmly entered a hotel restaurant and shot and killed the Austrian minister-president Count Karl von Stürgkh, three times with a pistol. He made no effort to flee and admited his guilt. He was sentenced to death, but that was commuted by Emporer Charles to 1-18 years in prison. He was released at the end of WWI and lived to be 80 years old in 1960.

Kleiner acquiesced and advised Einstein to try one more time, this time in Zurich. Einstein did it. “Contrary to my habit, I lectured well on that occasion.” In spite of faculty reservations about Einstein’s “Jewishness” he was offered the job, which paid less than his Patent Office position. “So, now I too am an official member of the guild of whores.”

Finally, by 1908 - eight years after he completed college and three years after he changed the world in multiple ways, Einstein was a fully credentialed university professor.

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