th。 in 1944； when planck was eighty…five； an allied bomb fell on his house and he losteverything…papers； diaries； a lifetime of accumulations。 the following year his surviving son was caught in aconspiracy to assassinate hitler and executed。
respect to an observer depending on whether the observer was moving toward the source oflight or away from it； but no one had figured out a way to measure this。 it occurred tomichelson that for half the year the earth is traveling toward the sun and for half the year it ismoving away from it； and he reasoned that if you took careful enough measurements atopposite seasons and pared light鈥檚 travel time between the two； you would have youranswer。
michelson talked alexander graham bell； newly enriched inventor of the telephone； intoproviding the funds to build an ingenious and sensitive instrument of michelson鈥檚 owndevising called an interferometer； which could measure the velocity of light with greatprecision。 then； assisted by the genial but shadowy morley； michelson embarked on years offastidious measurements。 the work was delicate and exhausting； and had to be suspended fora time to permit michelson a brief but prehensive nervous breakdown； but by 1887 theyhad their results。 they were not at all what the two scientists had expected to find。
as caltech astrophysicist kip s。 thorne has written： 鈥渢he speed of light turned out to bethe same inall directions and at all seasons。鈥潯t was the first hint in two hundred years鈥攊nexactly two hundred years； in fact鈥攖hat newton鈥檚 laws might not apply all the timeeverywhere。 the michelson…morley oute became； in the words of william h。 cropper；鈥減robably the most famous negative result in the history of physics。鈥潯ichelson was awardeda nobel prize in physics for the work鈥攖he first american so honored鈥攂ut not for twentyyears。 meanwhile； the michelson…morley experiments would hover unpleasantly； like a mustysmell； in the background of scientific thought。
remarkably； and despite his findings； when the twentieth century dawned michelsoncounted himself among those who believed that the work of science was nearly at an end；with 鈥渙nly a few turrets and pinnacles to be added； a few roof bosses to be carved；鈥潯n thewords of a writer in nature。
in fact； of course； the world was about to enter a century of science where many peoplewouldn鈥檛 understand anything and none would understand everything。 scientists would soonfind themselves adrift in a bewildering realm of particles and antiparticles； where things popin and out of existence in spans of time that make nanoseconds look plodding and uneventful；where everything is strange。 science was moving from a world of macrophysics； whereobjects could be seen and held and measured； to one of microphysics； where events transpirewith unimaginable swiftness on scales far below the limits of imagining。 we were about toenter the quantum age； and the first person to push on the door was the so…far unfortunatemax planck。
in 1900； now a theoretical physicist at the university of berlin and at the somewhatadvanced age of forty…two； planck unveiled a new 鈥渜uantum theory；鈥潯hich posited thatenergy is not a continuous thing like flowing water but es in individualized packets；which he called quanta。 this was a novel concept； and a good one。 in the short term it wouldhelp to provide a solution to the puzzle of the michelson…morley experiments in that itdemonstrated that light needn鈥檛 be a wave after all。 in the longer term it would lay thefoundation for the whole of modern physics。 it was； at all events； the first clue that the worldwas about to change。
but the landmark event鈥攖he dawn of a new age鈥攃ame in 1905； when there appeared inthe german physics journal annalen der physik a series of papers by a young swissbureaucrat who had no university affiliation； no access to a laboratory； and the regular use of no library greater than that of the national patent office in bern； where he was employed as atechnical examiner third class。 （an application to be promoted to technical examiner secondclass had recently been rejected。）his name was albert einstein； and in that one eventful year he submitted to annalen derphysik five papers； of which three； according to c。 p。 snow； 鈥渨ere among the greatest in thehistory of physics鈥濃�攐ne examining the photoelectric effect by means of planck鈥檚 newquantum theory； one on the behavior of small particles in suspension （what is known asbrownian motion）； and one outlining a special theory of relativity。
the first won its author a nobel prize and explained the nature of light （and also helped tomake television possible； among other things）。
3the second provided proof that atoms doindeed exist鈥攁 fact that had； surprisingly； been in some dispute。 the third merely changedthe world。
einstein was born in ulm； in southern germany； in 1879； but grew up in munich。 little inhis early life suggested the greatness to e。 famously he didn鈥檛 learn to speak until he wasthree。 in the 1890s； his father鈥檚 electrical business failing； the family moved to milan； butalbert； by now a teenager； went to switzerland to continue his education鈥攖hough he failedhis college entrance exams on the first try。 in 1896 he gave up his german citizenship toavoid military conscription and entered the zurich polytechnic institute on a four…year coursedesigned to churn out high school science teachers。 he was a bright but not outstandingstudent。
in 1900 he graduated and within a few months was beginning to contribute papers toannalen der physik。 his very first paper； on the physics of fluids in drinking straws （of allthings）； appeared in the same issue as planck鈥檚 quantum theory。 from 1902 to 1904 heproduced a series of papers on statistical mechanics only to discover that the quietlyproductive j。 willard gibbs in connecticut had done that work as well； in his elementaryprinciples of statistical mechanics of 1901。
at the same time he had fallen in love with a fellow student； a hungarian named milevamaric。 in 1901 they had a child out of wedlock； a daughter； who was discreetly put up foradoption。 einstein never saw his child。 two years later； he and maric were married。 inbetween these events； in 1902； einstein took a job with the swiss patent office； where hestayed for the next seven years。 he enjoyed the work： it was challenging enough to engage hismind； but not so challenging as to distract him from his physics。 this was the backgroundagainst which he produced the special theory of relativity in 1905。
called 鈥渙n the electrodynamics of moving bodies；鈥潯t is one of the most extraordinaryscientific papers ever published； as much for how it was presented as for what it said。 it hadno footnotes or citations； contained almost no mathematics； made no mention of any workthat had influenced or preceded it； and acknowledged the help of just one individual； a3einstein was honored； somewhat vaguely； 〃for services to theoretical physics。〃 he had to wait sixteen years； till1921； to receive the award…quite a long time； all things considered； but nothing at all pared with frederickreines； who detected the neutrino in 1957 but wasnt honored with a nobel until 1995； thirty…eight years later； orthe german ernst ruska； who invented the electron microscope in 1932 and received his nobel prize in 1986；more than half a century after the fact。 since nobel prizes are never awarded posthumously； longevity can be asimportant a factor as ingenuity for prizewinners。
colleague at the patent office named michele besso。 it was； wrote c。 p。 snow； as if einstein鈥渉ad reached the conclusions by pure thought； unaided； without listening to the opinions ofothers。 to a surprisingly large extent； that is precisely what he had done。鈥�
his famous equation； e =mc2； did not appear with the paper； but came in a brief supplementthat followed a few months later。 as you will recall from school days； e in the equation standsfor energy； m for mass； and c2for the speed of light squared。
in simplest terms； what the equation says is that mass and energy have an equivalence。
they are two forms of the same thing： energy is liberated matter； matter is energy waiting tohappen。 since c2（the speed of light