• Question: why was einstein famous?

    Asked by Mappy to Deborah, Euan, Maheen, Rob on 22 Jun 2016.
    • Photo: Maheen Siddiqui

      Maheen Siddiqui answered on 22 Jun 2016:

      Hi Mappy,

      Einstein was a very important scientist! He is best known for his special and general theory of relativity. I’m not a physicist so I’m afraid I can’t explain this theory simply but I think Euan will have a lot to say!

    • Photo: Euan Allen

      Euan Allen answered on 22 Jun 2016:

      Ha, Maheen – you already know me too well!

      That’s a good question Mappy, and I’ll tell you why I think Einstein is famous. There are really two reasons why he has attracted lots of attention, and is probably the most famous scientist ever.

      The first reason is because, as Maheen said, he was an incredibly good scientist. Einstein won a Nobel prize (the highest award a scientist can win) for something called the photoelectric effect, which was in 1905. Really he could have won the award for his other two discoveries: special and general relativity. The special thing about Einstein’s work in general, is that he really started most of them from scratch, and wasn’t really building on anybody else’s ideas other than his own. People, and physicists in particular, admire him for having such a creative and innovative brain.

      The second reason I think he is famous is because he was quite a character. Einstein is famous for being quite argumentative, never shy to say what he thinks. He fell out with a lot of his professors (before he made it big), because he would argue with them all the time.

      I think these two things combined made him a unique scientists, which is why he is so well known today.

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