La Vida

· happy man is too satisfied with the present to dwell too much on the future.
· "My Future Plans" an essay written at age 17 for school exam (18 September 1896) The Collected Papers of Albert Einstein Vol. 1 (1987) Doc. 22
[edit] 1900s
· Unthinking respect for authority is the greatest enemy of truth.
· Letter to Jost Winteler (1901), quoted in The Private Lives of Albert Einsteinby Roger Highfield and Paul Carter (1993), p. 79[->0]. Einstein had been annoyed that Paul Drude, editor of Annalen der Physik, had dismissed out of hand some criticisms Einstein made of Drude's electron theory of metals.
· Dear Habicht, / Such a solemn air of silence has descended between us that I almost feel as if I am committing a sacrilege when I break it now with some inconsequentialbabble... / What are you up to, you frozen whale, you smoked, dried, canned piece of soul...?
· Opening of a letter to his friend Conrad Habicht in which he describes his four revolutionary "Annus Mirabilis" papers. (May 1905)
· E = mc²
· The equivalence of matter and energy was originally expressed by the equation m = L/c², which easily translates into the far more well known E = mc² inDoes the Inertia of a Body Depend Upon Its Energy Content?[->1] published in the Annalen der Physik (27 September 1905) : "If a body gives off the energy L in the form of radiation, its mass diminishes by L/c²."
· In a later statement explaining the ideas expressed by this equation, Einstein summarized: "It followed from the special theory of relativity that mass and energy are both butdifferent manifestations of the same thing — a somewhat unfamiliar conception for the average mind. Furthermore, the equation E = mc², in which energy is put equal to mass, multiplied by the square of the velocity of light, showed that very small amounts of mass may be converted into a very large amount of energy and vice versa. The mass and energy were in fact equivalent, according to the formulamentioned before. This was demonstrated by Cockcroft and Walton in 1932, experimentally."
· Atomic Physics (1948) by the J. Arthur Rank Organisation, Ltd. (mp3 audio file of Einstein's voice[->2])
· The mass of a body is a measure of its energy content.
· "Ist die Trägheit eines Körpers von seinem Energieinhalt abhängig?" ("Does the inertia of a body depend upon its energycontent?"), Annalen der Physik 18, 639-641 (1905). Quoted in Concepts of Mass in Classical and Modern Physics by Max Jammer (1961), p. 177[->3].
· We shall therefore assume the complete physical equivalence of a gravitational field and a corresponding acceleration of the reference system.
· Statement of the equivalence principle in Yearbook of Radioactivity and Electronics (1907)
[edit] 1910s[->4][->5]If my theory of relativity is proven successful, Germany will claim me as a German and France will declare that I am a citizen of the world. Should my theory prove untrue, France will say that I am a German and Germany will declare that I am a Jew.
· Nature shows us only the tail of the lion. But there is no doubt in my mind that the lion belongs with it even if he cannot reveal himselfto the eye all at once because of his huge dimension.
· Letter to H. Zangger (10 March 1914), quoted in The Curious History of Relativity by Jean Eisenstaedt (2006), p. 126[->6].
· Variant: "Nature shows us only the tail of the lion. But I do not doubt that the lion belongs to it even though he cannot at once reveal himself because of his enormous size." As quoted by Abraham Pais inSubtle is the Lord:The Science and Life of Albert Einstein (1982), p. 235. ISBN 0-192-80672-6[->7]
· In living through this "great epoch," it is difficult to reconcile oneself to the fact that one belongs to that mad, degenerate species that boasts of its free will. How I wish that somewhere there existed an island for those who are wise and of good will! In such a place even I should be an...