About the motion of particles suspended in liquids at rest, required by the molecular kinetic theory of heat

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Albert Einstein (1905)

The title of an article about the motion of particles suspended in liquids at rest, required by the molecular kinetic theory of heat, is the title of an article that Albert Einstein published with three other articles in Annus mirabilis 1905 , also known as the year of miracles , in the Annalen der Physik . The article provided empirical evidence for atomic theory using the methods of statistical physics . The Nobel Prize Committee honored the French physicist Jean-Baptiste Perrin in 1926for reviewing and confirming Einstein's work with the Nobel Prize in Physics .

background

The botanist Robert Brown observed under the microscope in 1827 that small dust particles on a water droplet moved back and forth in an irregular manner. This phenomenon, known as the Brownian movement , remained inexplicable for a long time. Albert Einstein, who did not know Brown's work in detail, assumed, based on the statistical theory of heat, a connection between the distance traveled by a particle per unit of time, the temperature of the liquid and the viscosity of the liquid and the radius of the particle.

effect

Before the article was published, atomic theory was controversial among scientists. Although atoms can explain many phenomena well, it has been suggested that they are merely a theoretical concept and not real particles. However, the publication convinced even prominent skeptics like Wilhelm Ostwald of the existence of atoms.

More articles

The three other Annus Mirabilis articles concern the interpretation of the photo effect and the introduction of the concept of the light quantum , a basic concept of quantum theory , the fundamental work on the special theory of relativity and the work on the equivalence of mass and energy (E = mc 2 ).

literature

  • Albert Einstein: About the motion of particles suspended in liquids at rest, required by the molecular kinetic theory of heat. In: Annals of Physics. 322, 1905, pp. 549-560, doi : 10.1002 / andp.19053220806 . ( online )

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Stephen G. Brush: Kinetic Theory II: Irreversible Processes Introduction and original texts , Akademie Verlag, Berlin, 1970, ISBN 978-3-528-06067-1 , p. 18.
  2. ↑ Albert Einstein: About a heuristic point of view concerning the generation and transformation of light. In: Annals of Physics. 322, 1905, pp. 132-148, doi : 10.1002 / andp.19053220607 .
  3. ↑ Albert Einstein: On the electrodynamics of moving bodies. In: Annals of Physics. 322, 1905, pp. 891-921, doi : 10.1002 / andp.19053221004 .
  4. ↑ Albert Einstein: Does the inertia of a body depend on its energy content? In: Annals of Physics. 323, 1905, pp. 639-641, doi : 10.1002 / andp.19053231314 .