What Did Albert Einstein Invent?

Albert Einstein was one of the most important scientists of all time, and he made countless contributions to physics, astronomy, and philosophy. His achievements helped form modern physics.

In 1926, Einstein invented a refrigerator that only required a heat source to operate and no electricity. In 1945, Einstein helped in the invention of the atomic bomb.

Childhood

Albert Einstein was born on March 14, 1879. He was born in Ulm, which was located in the Kingdom of Wurttemberg. The Kingdom of Wurttemberg was considered part of the German Empire. His parents were Hermann Einstein and Pauline Einstein. His father was both an engineer and a salesman.

A year after Einstein was born, his family moved to Munich. While in Munich, his father began a company with Einstein’s uncle. The company was called “Elektrotechnische Fabrik J. Einstein & Cie,” and the company created electrical equipment. The electrical equipment was based on the concept of direct current.

As a child, Einstein exhibited signs that he was extremely intelligent. In  his elementary school, he was the best student in his class. He had an interest in science even as a child, and built various mechanical items and models for fun. As a ten year old, Einstein read Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason. 

Youth

Einstein applied and did not get accepted to the Eidgenossische Polytechnische Schule in Switzerland. He didn’t get into the school because he failed the school’s entrance exam. However, although he failed the entrance exam, he tested remarkably well in both physics and mathematics. His family then decided to send him to northern Switzerland to finish his secondary schooling.

Einstein graduated from school at seventeen. At the time that Einstein graduated, he was a citizen of Germany. All male citizens of age in Germany were expected to serve in the military at the time. Thus, Einstein renounced his citizenship in Germany to avoid the military service. He then enrolled in the mathematics and physics program at the Polytechnic in Zuric in 1896.

When Einstein graduated from the Polytechnic, he wanted to become a teacher. However, Einstein wasn’t able to find a teaching job when he graduated. He took a job at the Swiss Patent Office. The majority of his work related to questions about electrical signals. However, some of the questions that Einstein faced while he was at the office introduced him to some physics problems which he would later solve. 

Early Career in Science

In 1905, Einstein received his doctorate from the University of Zurich. The thesis that Einstein wrote to gain his doctorate was titled, “On a new determination of molecular dimensions.” After Einstein graduated in 1905, he published four papers which revolutionized the science world. The papers were on the following topics:

• Photoelectric effect
• Brownian motion
• Special relativity
• Matter and energy

By 1909, Einstein was able to quit his job at the Swiss Patent Office.

In 1911, Einstein became a full time professor at the Karl-Ferdinand University in Prague. Einstein returned to Germany in 1914 and he was appointed the director of Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Physics. In the same year, he was also appointed a professor at the University of Berlin.

In the same year, Einstein published his groundbreaking research that light from a different star would be bent by the Sun’s gravity. He calculated this using his new theory of relativity. This calculation made Einstein internationally famous. Due to this research as well as his papers, Einstein was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1921.