DocumentCode :
42739
Title :
Was Einstein an Engineer?
Author :
Drake, Samuel Picton
Author_Institution :
Cyber & Electron. Warfare Div., Defence Sci. Technol. Organ., Edinburgh, SA, Australia
Volume :
102
Issue :
12
fYear :
2014
fDate :
Dec. 2014
Firstpage :
1870
Lastpage :
1872
Abstract :
Referring to the very epitome of physics as an engineer may appear humorous. However, there is a serious case for it. What would you call somebody who worked in a patent office as a technical expert for seven years, held a number of patents himself on refrigeration, self-adjusting cameras, and electric motors, and explained the photoelectric effect, i.e., the principle now behind photodiodes ? Also, Einstein´s father was an engineer-I am not suggesting that engineering is a genetic disease, but engineering was in the family; moreover, Albert Einstein took-and failed-an entrance exam to study electrical engineering in Zurich. Despite being renowned as one of the most abstract thinkers of the 20th century, Einstein was also very interested in the application of ideas, and it could be argued that he was more of an engineer than a physicist, especially in his early career.
Keywords :
electric motors; photoelectricity; Albert Einstein; electric motors; photodiodes; photoelectric effect; refrigeration; self-adjusting cameras; Engineering profession; Global positioning system; Patents; Physics; Research and development;
fLanguage :
English
Journal_Title :
Proceedings of the IEEE
Publisher :
ieee
ISSN :
0018-9219
Type :
jour
DOI :
10.1109/JPROC.2014.2366208
Filename :
6957008
Link To Document :
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