2005: The Centenial of Einstein's "Miracle Year"

Dr. Barry Parker
Professor Emeritus
Department of Physics
Idaho State university

It is 100 years since Einstein discovered his special theory of relativity, but he also published several other papers during the same year. One of them, in fact, earned him the Nobel prize. I will talk about this year which is frequently called his "miracle year. I will also discuss his early life and some of the influences the were important in his life. Interestingly, Einstein's greatest conribution, namely, general relativity, didn't come until 10 years later. I will  discuss this theory and how it has affected modern science. Finally, I will talk about his attempt to contruct a "Theory of everything."