Albert Einstein - The father of modern physics

The Father of modern physics I think it has to be said that Einstein is arguably the most influential scientist of all time, without his work the world of quantum physics, and physics in general, would be a much darker and less understood place. His work has provoked much of the scientific knowledge we have today and has made physics as a whole a more accessible subject for everyone. His wide influence has made him a household name among many families. Einstein is most in famous for the works he produced in the Annus Mirabili – extraordinary year – in this year he produced four papers, these papers were substantial foundations to modern physics. All of these papers were written in German, their translated titles are as follows: “On a Heuristic Viewpoint Concerning the Production and Transformation of Light”, this paper proposed the idea of energy quanta, and put forward an explanation to the Photoelectric Effect. Einstein states that “the energy of a light ray spreading out from a point source is not continuously distributed over an increasing space but consists of a finite number of energy quanta” (Einstein 1905) [1]) this went against the accepted Maxwellian theories of light and radiation, due to this many scientists did not accept this theory, one of these scientists included Niels Bohr, who stated in his Nobel address in 1922 (17 years after Einstein first

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Electromagnetic Waves

Physics Project Wavelength (m) Frequency (Hz) Energy (J) Radio >1 x 10-1 <3 x 109 <2 x 10-24 Microwave x 10-3 - 1 x 10-1 3 x 109 - 3 x 1011 2 x 10-24- 2 x 10-22 Infrared 7 x 10-7 - 1 x 10-3 3 x 1011 - 4 x 1014 2 x 10-22 - 3 x 10-19 Optical 4 x 10-7 - 7 x 10-7 4 x 1014 - 7.5 x 1014 3 x 10-19 - 5 x 10-19 UV x 10-8 - 4 x 10-7 7.5 x 1014 - 3 x 1016 5 x 10-19 - 2 x 10-17 X-ray x 10-11 - 1 x 10-8 3 x 1016 - 3 x 1019 2 x 10-17 - 2 x 10-14 Gamma-ray <1 x 10-11 >3 x 1019 >2 x 10-14 Concerns of Society The main concerns of the electromagnetic spectrum that are common knowledge are concerning microwaves from mobile phone masts. Many people claim that they do damage to people near the masts, however the modern world may not be able to function without the communication link provided by mobile phones. Radio Waves Properties: - Highest wavelengths of the electromagnetic spectrum, generated by all electrical goods, generated when an electron changes its spin on a molecule. Uses: - Transferring information without wires, radar, navigation, interstellar probes (radio waves that exert small magnetic forces like a 'tractor beam' have been proposed as a form of propulsion.) Dangers: - There are no direct dangers involved with radio waves but information can be intercepted. Protection: - None needed Microwaves Properties: - Can pass through solid objects,

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The History of Atomic Theory. Due to the constantly developing scientific theories, the model of the atom has changed significantly over the years from Democritus with his views of indivisible tomos to Thomsons plum pudding model and scientists

History of Atomic Theory Due to the constantly developing scientific theories, the model of the atom has changed significantly over the years - from Democritus with his views of indivisible átomos to Thomson's plum pudding model and scientists' most recent proposition: quarks. During the 5th Century BC, the first idea of the atom was devised. The Greek philosopher, Democritus, came up with his theory on the atom. He suggested that each of the four elements (earth, air, fire and water) consisted of atoms which were held together by miniscule hooks. Another of his beliefs was that a sample of matter could not be divided an infinite number of times - everything was made of a base particle which he termed 'átomos.' At the beginning of the 19th century, John Dalton came up with his own theories on the atom. He predicted that atoms made up elements and that they could not be divided, agreeing with Democritus. He also believed that all atoms of a given element were the same, and that atoms of one element were different to those of any other element. However, by then the number of elements had grown from 4 and included substances such as 'potash,' 'soda' and 'lime,' with none of the Greeks' elements remaining. During experiments with cathode rays around the turn of the 20th century, JJ Thomson discovered the electron. He realised that these cathode rays were a stream of

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Mobile Phones - A curse or a boon?

Mobile Phones - A curse or a boon? Since the beginning of time man has been inventing things; the bike, the car, the radio, the television, the telephone, the computer but the most recent invention to have taken the world by storm has to be the mobile phone. Originally a large, heavy, black box with an even larger protruding aerial, mobile phones were not widely used but today they are a must-have fashion accessory, and with coloured fascias, aerials, covers, logos and ring-tones available, its no surprise that children as young as eight are now asking Santa for an Ericsson PF768 or Motorola Wing Timeport V.550. With recent advances in technology WAP services have been provided on mobiles and in Japan they have fitted a video camera into the ever decreasing in size hand held phenomena. It is safe to say that mobiles have taken over, making it impossible to travel without hearing a dull-tone version of the number 1 tune blasting in your ear followed by, "Hello? I'm on the train!" There are many stories of lives being saved when someone suffers a heart attack whilst in the middle of nowhere and the victim is rescued because their companion rang the emergency services on their mobile. This is one reason why so many people own mobiles - security. The young and old are reassured that by owning a mobile, help can be on its way in the touch of a button if an emergency situation

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