Curiosity Killed the Lights: Albert Einstein

Some argue that Albert Einstein was a genius and others argue that he was not. This all depends on what your definition is of genius. In my book a genius is not someone that is perfect but someone that can think out of the box and have facts to support their thoughts. Albert Einstein did not pass every test, but his intellect was so astonishing that it could not be measured by any test written by mankind. Einstein discovered how to turn matter into energy and energy into matter. However this would have not been possible without Newton’s equation and Bernoulli’s principle. Albert Einstein is not the most influential scientist of his time, but in my book he is the most influential of ALL- TIME! Albert Einstein’s equation: E = m x c^2

An Unprofitable Experience: Rudolf Clausius

Rudolf Clausius was a motherless boy who grew up one of the greatest minds of his time. He was a man who thrived through the battles he faced in his life. He developed and showed the relationship between electricity and magnetism. He observed heat in its natural state as it went from being hot to cold. He showed how heat produced energy. He was a loving father and husband who had a strong religious base. He overcame the obstacles of having people trying to steal his ideas to people trying to discredit his work, but overall he was a great success.

Class Act: Michael Faraday

Michael Faraday had what we would call a “normal” life. His father died when he was only 18 years of age, which caused him to have to become the man of his family so that he could support his mother and siblings. He worked as a book binder and during this time he discovered that he wanted to do something that involved science. Through his curiosity and his ideas he gained from his role model Isaac Newton he discovered the Equation that lead to electricity. He made his discovery during a rough time is science because people were trying to figure out what science really was. I understood his equation the most because he used simple terms instead of complex terms like the other scientist and mathematicians. Electricity is something that we use on a day to day basis from the television to the computer, without this equation who knows where we would be.

Between a Rock and a Hard Place: Daniel Bernoulli

The life of Daniel Bernoulli is a depressing and appalling story of a man whose love for math lead to his own despise. His life was full of disappointments and hurt caused by the people who are supposed to support you most, your parents. He spent his entire life being confined to a world of confusion and frustration over a mathematical equation he could not discover the answer to. Daniel spent his life striving to be like Isaac Newton his role model, but failed to please his father. His father despised him because he did not want him to be a greater success than he was. Johann Bernoulli could not see past his self to realize that his son did not want to be better than him; he just wanted to make him proud. His father’s abuse and hatred toward Daniel was unnecessary. Johann inspired Daniel and destroyed him at the same time. But Daniel was able to overcome his rough circumstances and be the victor not the victim. Daniels equation lead to the discovery of the modern air plane. Daniel Bernoulli’s equation: P + p x ½ v^2 = CONSTANT

Apples and Oranges: Isaac Newton

Some people say Isaac Newton was insane and others say is a genius; however in my eyes he is the scientist who changed the way the world thought about science. I feel that I can relate to him because he was one who stood by his beliefs no matter what price he had to pay. I believe that I am the same way, if I believe in something I don’t allow anyone or anything to sway my thoughts or feelings toward the subject. Who would have thought that a boy who was bullied throughout his entire life would have been the scientist of the century? Who knew that the falling of an apple of his head, lead to the discovery of an equation that would allow a man to land on the moon? People fail to realize the effect that his discovery has on our day to day life. He laid the foundation for other scientists to build on. We use his equation for sports to hanging a picture on wall. Isaac Newton’s equation: F= G x M x m /d^2

ALBERT EINSTEIN

Everyone has at some point struggled in school, which makes Einstein relatable, as he was deemed “slow” by his teachers. They thought him a student of little potential, if you will, however he wound up as one of such creative depth who would alter the world with his studies of space and time. A medical article I read claimed that Einstein displayed symptoms of ADHD, which could account for his difficulties in school and his focus on math. Hyperfocus is one of the symptoms, meaning that one would become overly absorbed in desirable activities (math…for Einstein anyways). Such focus though helped to create a valued equation, which is as beneficial as it destructive. Knowledge is expanded with its discovery but simultaneously nuclear warfare is made possible. Clearly Einstein could not have imagined E=MC^2 being used for this. In my opinion, each breakthrough in science brings us closer to understanding the world we live in, yet making it possible for the loss of more human life, made evident in the bombing of Nagasaki and Hiroshima.

RUDOLPH CLAUSIUS

Promethius may have given fire to the mortals, but he did not provide the ways in which thermal heat could be turned into energy. Clausius did, however; he first combinined the ideas of James Joule and William Thomson to form his own individual theory of heat transferred into energy. Beyond doubt he is to be admired for such a contribution to humanity, but also for the perseverance he had. Clausius had to overcome people trying to take credit for his work and then the challenge of growing up without a mother. Being motherless is unimaginable and his success in the face of adversity shows that one should continue to excel no matter the cards one is dealt in life. Many spiral into depression over such a void, but he had to ability to overlook it and become great, providing an idea that can be applied to electricity.

MICHAEL FARADAY

Michael Faraday was faced with supporting a family while still attempting to gain an education by teaching himself and attending lectures. Surely this is a difficult balance to keep, but his perseverance allowed him to surpass his job as a book binder and find a connection between electricity and magnetism. Thus, the Law of Electromagnetic Induction is discovered. Faraday should be respected for his discovery, but more so for the terms in which he described it. He was of the first to make his law understandable to the common person, instead of riddled with mathematical jargon that only the highest scholars could comprehend. I personally admire his move towards simplicity with a much more than letting on complex idea. The average joe was then able to comprehend and grasp the usefulness of it.

DANIEL BERNOULLI

Admittedly, I had not heard of Daniel Bernoulli until now. His breakthrough in hydrodynamics is truly marvelous and is unfortunately not widely known. Society manages to unfairly overlook this man and many others whose work make many luxuries possible. What struck me most of all though had little to do with his education and research, but more to do with his father. Johann Bernoulli ignited a passion in his son and would later extinguish it. How does one introduce your child to mathematics, let him find pleasure in it, then express that you never wanted them to be a mathematician? Furthermore, how do you steal credit from your son and harbor such jealousy towards him? With a father like Johann it is clear to see how Daniel lost his passion. Daniel’s composure though is admirable, as my parents behaving in such a way would have crushed me.

SIR ISAAC NEWTON

Isaac Newton endured several attacks towards his self esteem, which only made him try harder and become one of the most brilliant and devoted men to ever live. Brilliance in the form of his discovery on gravity and devotion regarding his religion as well as his need to strive to be all he could be. Science and religion, though, have always clashed. People find science’s purpose to disprove religion, but Newton managed to blend the two so he could grace the world with such a valued concept. Most amazing to me would be the ideas that were sparked from the falling of an apple; who would have known? This just shows that everyday occurrences can spark an epiphany and alter the world’s perception.

Rudolf Clausius- An Unprofitable Experience

For some reason, this chapter of the book seemed like it was the most important and most interesting to me. It seemed like it had more meaning, and made the reader think more. The whole concept of life and death and how it was all connected to his studies about heat really caught my attention and made me want to read on because it was different than the others. Clausius started his life with a challenge and continued to have difficulties as he grew. He grew u without a mother which must have been extremely hard. But it didn't stop him from doing other things that he liked in life and being successful. He dedicated his studies and his life to heat. And he used that to explain life and death, which had played a great role in his life.

Daniel Bernoulli

Inspired by the man he looked up to to follow in his footsteps was the jealous egotistical man Johann Bernoulli, Daniels father. His father was one of those self centered guys who had too much pride for his own good and wanted to be better than everyone else, even his own son. It is because of this that Daniel and his father never had the best relationship with one another. Even still Daniel respected his father; he even credited him in the book he wrote. Yet his father still took credit for Daniel’s theory of hydrodynamics, which is when Daniel decided he had had enough of his father being selfish and he gave up on math. I think that it is such a shame that his father’s greed and jealousy took Daniel over and made him give up something that we was clearly brilliant at, I mean if he was working with Isaac Newton he must be a genius.

Michael Faraday

The world is now an electric world, basically everything around us now run on electricity. In my opinion Faraday was a very well motivated man that had a strong desire to push himself further and further. For example he taught himself to read which eventually lead to his interest in electricity. All while trying very hard to support his family he attended lectures to broaden his knowledge. Then he had the desire for more knowledge and of course began to question certain things. He started experimenting with magnets and discovered that the increase the rate of the magnets force the greater the amount of electricity would be created. This is better known as the theory of the Law of Electromagnetic Induction. Without this discovery I think that we may still be living in the dark, making his equation and discovery priceless.

Rudolf Clausius

Personally prior to reading this book I had never heard of Clausius, but I have heard of the law of conservation of energy. He discovered that it is possible to change one type of energy to another, for example chemical energy to thermal energy. Having lost his mother not long after his birth and true love later on in life he continued to discover new things. I think that the loss of his mother early on in his life caused him to focus more on his work rather than other things, and when his love died I think it probably only made him focus more and work harder to make discoveries. The two most important women in your life are your mother and your wife; he lost both and still managed to discover great things, and become one of the top minds in history, which highlights his devotion to his work. I am just glad that late on it is his name that is recognized over his fathers, because that is how it always should have been.

Isaac Newton

All you have to say is Newton Laws, nearly everyone has heard of them, and if not there is no doubt that they haven’t heard of Isaac Newton. Newton is probably most famous for the story of the apple falling from the tree and striking him on the head, which lead to his study on his theory of gravity. Without his theories that he had written down, it is quite likely that gravity would have taken much longer to be understood. Something I did find to be interesting when I was reading was that he was always bullied growing up, which made him always push himself in everything he did. Yet he didn’t publish anything he wrote to avoid religious persecution. Now, had he published his work it is quite likely he would have been constantly annoyed with people’s complaints, objections and opinions, but it perhaps could have also taken him to a different level with other scientists. I must say that I do strongly support his decision of keeping his work private, and I respect that he intermixed his work with religion.

Albert Einstein

Starting out as a boy whose teachers did not see a great amount of potential in him, Albert Einstein grew into a man with one of the most brilliant minds in history. I don’t think there is another man more widely known throughout the world, other than perhaps Jesus, and rightfully so. Einstein’s contributions to math and science throughout the ages have been very profound, one of his greatest contributions to modern mathematics and science was his creation of the equation for energy, E= MC^2. I found it very interesting that Einstein was thought of as “slow” by his teachers, because I think that he probably was just bored with the lessons in school and therefore did not feel the need to put in much of an effort. However, as everyone later saw, he was extremely intelligent with things that interested him, and these things made him really start thinking outside the box in ways that people most people couldn’t. It seems like many of the world’s great minds started out rough; Charles Darwin also did poorly in school as a young boy simply because he had no interest in what was being taught, just like Einstein.