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Did not Einstein win his Nobel prize for explaining Brownian motion in classical Newtonian physics? That is, did he not also have to master the existing materi
by readthenotes1 4y ago
Did not Einstein win his Nobel prize for explaining Brownian motion in classical Newtonian physics?
That is, did he not also have to master the existing material of the day using the woeful tools of the late 19th and earliest 20th century?
He had neither the internet nor Anki cards to help him learn anything.
I do not think the problem is one of low-hanging fruit
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- Kranar 4y agoTechnically, Einstein won the Nobel prize for "his services to theoretical physics and especially the photoelectric effect", but in actuality he won it for his work on relativity. The reason the Nobel committee did not just give him the award for relativity was because until 1919, there was no way to experimentally verify relativity theory, and then in 1919 when it was experimentally verified, there was a significant increase in anti-semitism following the end of the first World War and a great deal of hesitation to award it to Einstein for what was considered an incredibly complex theory that few people could understand. Because of that, a compromise was reached, and Einstein would receive a deferred award for the photoelectric effect, which was much less contentious. But everyone understood that Einstein had won the award for his work on relativity.
- physPop 4y agoI've never heard this before -- do you have a reputable source?
- adastra22 4y agoHe does not because it is not true. Einstein won his Nobel for his explanation of the photoelectric effect, which experimentally confirmed quantum theory. Quantum theory has been waaaaay more impactful than relativity, then and now.