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Volume 17: Number 4: Article 8
The Einstein Mystique
Ian McCausland, Edward S. Rogers Sr. Department of Electrical and
Computer Engineering, Unversity of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 3G4
Albert Einstein's scientific career is studied, with the purpose of
trying to explain why he became such a universally famous and revered
person. Various events of the past century are considered, and their
effects on his scientific and personal reputation. Some of the events
studied are: the publication of the special and general theories of
relativity, the 1919 solar eclipse and the famous meeting at which the
results of the eclipse observations were announced, and Einstein's visit
to the United States in 1921. After his death, many biographies of Einstein
were written, both before and after the availability of further information
that became available about his personal life after the deaths of Helen
Dukas and Otto Nathan; some of these are discussed, including the strange
story of what happened to Einstein's brain after his death. Celebrations
of the centenary of his birth, the centenary of the theory of special
relativity, and the centenary of the solar eclipse are also discussed.
In spite of all the information that is available, the reasons for Einstein's
great and enduring fame remain mysterious.
Keywords: Einstein, relativity, history of science
FULL TEXT:
The Einstein Mystique
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