Book ID: CBB001210086

The Practical Einstein: Experiments, Patents, Inventions (2012)

unapi

Illy, József (Author)


Johns Hopkins University Press


Publication Date: 2012
Physical Details: xi + 202 pp.; ill.
Language: English

Albert Einstein may be best known as the wire-haired whacky physicist who gave us the theory of relativity, but that's just one facet of this genius's contribution to human knowledge and modern science. As József Illy expertly shows in this book, Einstein had an eminently practical side as well. As a youth, Einstein was an inveterate tinkerer in the electrical supply factory his father and uncle owned and operated. His first paid job was as a patent examiner. Later in life, Einstein contributed to many inventions, including refrigerators, microphones, and instruments for aviation. In published papers, Einstein often provided ways to test his theories and fundamental problems of the scientific community of his times. He delved deeply into a variety of technological innovations, most notably the gyrocompass, and consulted for industry in patent cases and on other legal matters. Einstein also provided explanations for common and mundane phenomena, such as the meandering of rivers. In these and other hands-on examples culled from the Einstein Papers, Illy demonstrates how Einstein enjoyed leaving the abstract world of theories to wrestle with the problems of everyday life. While we may like the idea of Einstein as a genius besotted by extra dimensions and too out-of-this-world to wear socks, The Practical Einstein gives ample evidence that this characterization is both incomplete and an unfair representation of a man who sought to explore the intricacies of nature, whether in theory or in practice.

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Reviewed By

Review Johnston, Sean (2014) Review of "The Practical Einstein: Experiments, Patents, Inventions". British Journal for the History of Science (pp. 382-383). unapi

Essay Review Martínez, Alberto A. (2014) The Questionable Inventions of the Clever Dr. Einstein. Metascience: An International Review Journal for the History, Philosophy and Social Studies of Science (pp. 49-55). unapi

Citation URI
https://data.isiscb.org/isis/citation/CBB001210086/

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Authors & Contributors
Zabelin, K. I.
Stross, Randall E.
Snow, Richard
Sluby, Patricia Carter
Seitz, Frederick
Puche Riart, Octavio
Concepts
Inventors and invention
Biographies
Technological innovation
Technology
Physics
Patents
Time Periods
20th century, early
19th century
20th century
18th century
Places
United States
Russia
Bern (Switzerland)
Turin (Italy)
Spain
Germany
Institutions
Ford Motor Company
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