100 years after his theory, Einstein still piques public's imagination

Albert Einstein is shown in his study in Berlin in 1919.
Albert Einstein is shown in his study in Berlin in 1919.

FAYETTEVILLE -- In a basement room filled with filing cabinets, physicist Daniel Kennefick got to know Albert Einstein.

"I never met the man. I have spent quite a lot of time looking at his papers," said Kennefick, an associate professor at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville and also a scientific editor for the Einstein Papers Project based at the California Institute of Technology.

This month, the world again is celebrating Einstein, the theoretical physicist from the first half of the 20th century, whose fame extended far into popular culture -- with tongue out and hair splayed, as depicted in one famously playful image of the German-born physicist who late in life became a United States citizen.

But what catapulted him to iconic status was his general theory of relativity.

On Nov. 25, 1915, Einstein presented groundbreaking equations that redefined gravity and, in doing so, brought about new conceptions of the universe. He had already devised a theory now known as special relativity, presented 10 years earlier.

When other scientists' measurements of starlight ended up supporting Einstein's general theory of relativity, headlines trumpeted the findings and his fame skyrocketed.

"It's difficult to overstate how important the theory is," Kennefick said, describing it as beautiful. "We still have not found any way in which it fails," Kennefick added. "It's passed every test, to a remarkable amount of precision."

His own physics research involves the study of gravitational waves, a concept first fully detailed in Einstein's work.

The field inspired by Einstein's general theory of relativity is more active than ever, Kennefick said. Historians and authors also remain busy, with new books continuously published about some aspect of Einstein's life. UA's library catalog lists 93 different works tagged as featuring Einstein as a subject.

Several additional texts among UA's holdings also touch on aspects of Einstein, such as Kennefick's 2007 book Traveling at the Speed of Thought: Einstein and the Quest for Gravitational Waves. The book is listed in UA's system under the subject heading of Einstein Field Equations, the mathematical underpinning for Einstein's general theory of relativity.

Last month, a new book co-authored by Kennefick, An Einstein Encyclopedia, was published by Princeton University Press.

"It is very much aimed at a layperson," Kennefick said. His collaborators, Alice Calaprice and Robert Schulmann, have contributed to and written other books about Einstein.

Their latest work provides a catalog of insights and facts in a format meant for easy searching. The book includes a description of Einstein's personal life and his social and political beliefs, as well as summaries of his most important scientific publications.

Kennefick's role as an Einstein historian came about by chance. As a graduate student at Caltech, Kennefick studied both physics and the history of science, with his interest in gravitational waves drawing him to learn about the subject's origins, he said.

But it wasn't until an adviser to his history studies, Diana Kormos-Buchwald, later gained an appointment as editor of the Einstein Papers Project that Kennefick began a job poring over the trove of correspondence, manuscripts and other records.

The full story of Einstein the man includes some unflattering aspects, such as a failed marriage and infidelity, Kennefick said. But Einstein also spoke forthrightly on issues he thought were important. For example, Einstein spoke in favor of civil rights for blacks "at a time when that was not in any way a popular cause," Kennefick said.

When fame happened, "he just accepted it, and he was willing to make himself available to people," Kennefick said.

Einstein's last workplace was at Princeton University. The Princeton University Press this month has published online short reflections on Einstein from various authors, including Jimena Canales, author of The Physicist and the Philosopher: Einstein, Bergson, and the Debate That Changed Our Understanding of Time.

Stories of "lone geniuses" solving great problems -- true or not -- are beloved by the public, Canales wrote in an email to the Democrat-Gazette, noting that "science and the media have always been dependent on each other."

As a physicist, Kennefick said the power and depth of Einstein's work remains impressive to see in his archived papers.

"You often are very excited at something you're reading, because you're looking at something that maybe founded the field that you're working in," Kennefick said.

At UA, students and faculty held a special event earlier this month, Celebrating Einstein. About 80 people attended, not all of them within the university's physics community, Kennefick said.

"You can get a little crowd for physics, and you can get a big crowd for Einstein," he said.

Metro on 11/27/2015

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