Albert Einstein

Albert Einstein (14 March 1879 – 18 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist who developed the general theory of relativity, effecting a revolution in physics. For this achievement, Einstein is often regarded as the father of modern physics and the most influential physicist of the 20th century. While best known for his mass–energy equivalence E = mc2 (which has been dubbed "the world's most famous equation"), he received the Nobel Prize in Physics "for his services to theoretical physics, and especially for his discovery of the law of the photoelectric effect". The latter was pivotal in establishing quantum theory.

At the start of his scientific work, Einstein realized the inadequacies of Newtonian mechanics and his special theory of relativity stemmed from an attempt to reconcile the laws of mechanics with the laws of the electromagnetic field. He dealt with classical problems of statistical mechanics and problems in which they were merged with quantum theory: this led to an explanation of the Brownian movement of molecules. He investigated the thermal properties of light with a low radiation density and his observations laid the foundation of the photon theory of light.

In his early days in Berlin, Einstein postulated that the correct interpretation of the special theory of relativity must also furnish a theory of gravitation and in 1916 he published his paper on the general theory of relativity. During this time he also contributed to the problems of the theory of radiation and statistical mechanics.

In the 1920's, Einstein embarked on the construction of unified field theories, although he continued to work on the probabilistic interpretation of quantum theory, and he persevered with this work in America. He contributed to statistical mechanics by his development of the quantum theory of a monatomic gas and he has also accomplished valuable work in connection with atomic transition probabilities and relativistic cosmology.

His great intellectual achievements and originality have made the word "Einstein" synonymous with genius.

References in The Big Bang Theory
''In "The Einstein Approximation", Sheldon says, "When Albert Einstein came up with special relativity, he was working at the patent office." He finds a similarly menial job where his basal ganglia are occupied with a routine task, freeing his prefrontal cortex to work quietly in the background on his problem.''

In "The Lunar Excitation", Sheldon refers to Albert Einstein establishing the theoretic foundation for the laser in his paper Zur Quantentheorie der Strahlung (On the Quantum Theory of Radiation) in 1917.

In "The Rhinitis Revelation", the Einstein Field Equations, $$R_{\mu \nu} -\frac{1}{2}R\,g_{\mu \nu} + \Lambda\,g_{\mu \nu} = {8 \pi G \over c^4} T_{\mu \nu}$$, are visible on the kitchen whiteboard in tensor notation.

In "The Holographic Excitation", Leonard adopts the guise and accent of Einstein at a Halloween party.

''In "The Cooper/Kripke Inversion", Leonard consoles Sheldon, "You just got stuck on a wrong path. It happened to Einstein; he got stuck on the unified field theory for decades." Sheldon retorts, "Oh, don't play the Einstein card! His great breakthroughs happened when no one knew anything. Everything was a great breakthrough."''