Science History: Einstein Adds a New Dimension

What is Einstein's famous equation? In words, what does it mean?

a. E=mc^2. It means that mass can be converted into energy.

What was the name of the scientist who Einstein based his ideas of motion on? How did he apply those ideas?

a. Einstein applied Robert Brown's Brownian motion (pollen moves randomly in water) to atoms. b. Atoms moved randomly.

What did Einstein prove about light? Why is he so doubted?

a. Einstein took Planck's idea and applied it to light, proving light is quantized. b. He proposed the particle-wave duality idea of light. c. He is doubted because it seemed impossible for light to be both a particle and a wave.

What idea did Leo Szilard devise? Who finds the elements he needs?

a. He devised nuclear physics. b. He helped understand that a chain reaction could happen with enough fissionable material c. This fissionable material was Uranium-235 and was found by Enrico Fermi.

What did Max Planck discover about light?

a. He discovered that light is quantized, meaning it has specific energies b. Light cannot just move around freely.

What did J.J. Thomson discover and how did he do it?

a. He discovered the electron through cathode rays. b. He discovered the first subatomic particle, saying electrons were fundamental to elements.

Briefly explain the History of the 1930s Europe and what it meant for science.

a. The largest immigration of scientists in one place happened during this time, creating scientific exploration and cooperation on a large scale. b. With the help of Leo Szilard and others, scientists started to understand how nuclear power and a nuclear bomb were possible through nuclear fission (of Uranium-235). However, they were leery of this, as a weapon of that scale

Explain the model of an atom J.J. Thomson proposed

a. The plum pudding model. b. Said that electrons are in a "sea" of positive charges. c. Basically, an atom is filled with positive "pudding", while there are electron "plums."

What is the problem of quantum mechanics in relation to relativity? What is the name of the scientist who calls a meeting in 1948? Who answers the question?

a. The problem is that quantum mechanics does not work on a relativistic level (motion in relation to another thing). b. Paul Dirac called the meeting to solve this problem. c. Richard Feynman answers the question.

What branch of physics and chemistry did Bohr's Copenhagen group focus on?

a. They focused on quantum mechanics. b. They tried to understand atoms by applying quantums to them. c. Also trying to understand and improve Bohr's model of the atom.

What did cyclotrons help to find out? What was the result?

a. They helped us to find basic particles (such as quarks) b. It told us that our subatomic particles are made up of even smaller particles. c. We are trying to find the basic particle that makes up all matter.

What did the Curies become famous for?

a. They studied "Uranic rays", which they later renamed radioactivity. b. They found two new elements: polonium and radium.

What were Michelson and Morley trying to prove existed?

a. They tried to prove the idea of the *ether* existed, which was an invisible substance that filled space.

When was the Miracle year and what did Einstein do?

a. 1905 b. Einstein published 5 papers that paved the way for all modern science. c. His papers explained the photoelectric effect, relativity, atomic motion, and the relationship between mass and energy.

Who is Marie Sklodowska? Explain her early life.

a. AKA Marie Curie b. She was born in Poland to a poor, but educated family. c. She worked for her sister's education in her 20s while also studying physics. d. She became the first woman to study mathematics and physics at Sorbonne in France, where she met her husband.

What is an event? What is so special about the speed of light?

a. An event is anything happening; *any moment in space-time.* b. The speed of light is always constant; light is the only constant in the universe.

How had the ability to control and harness electricity changed science?

a. Beginning in the 1800s, we started studying electricity in a voltaic pile, with which we discovered *electricity is a fundamental part of matter and magnetism* b. James Clerk Maxwell was able to discover Thermodynamics using electricity, which laid the foundation for physics at the time.

Explain the Bohr Model of the Atom. What does it show?

a. Bohr's model applied the idea of quantum to atoms, placing them in seven levels. b. It shows that each atom is distinct and has its own wavelength. c. Also says that electrons are responsible for how atoms behave.

What basic particle did Rutherford find? How does it help determine the weight of an atom?

a. He found the proton (a hydrogen nucleus is just a proton). b. It shows that the nucleus contains all the weight of an atom.

What does Fermi first make in Chicago? What isotope is important?

a. He made the first nuclear pile. b. U-235 is important for this and chain reactions.

What does Arthur Compton show? Who and what did he prove correct?

a. He proved that light is both a wave and a particle, as well as electricity. b. By doing so, he proved Einstein correct and resolved the long argument of light between Einstein and Bohr. c. Proved *Photons* exists.

How was Albert Einstein as a student?

a. He struggled as a young student. b. The German schools did not know what to do with him and his parents abandoned him for school. c. He was only interested in physics and math d. His University professors believed he would not amount to much, as he was always stuck in his own mind and skipped class.

Who was Linus Pauling? What did he help to organize?

a. He was America's greatest scientist, dabbling in many fields. b. He came up with the idea of the Double Helix. c. He redesigned how Chemistry is taught and his ideas for textbooks were used for years.

Explain the Schrodinger equation. What does it explain?

a. It described how electrons move and how they are what causes atoms to bond. b. It was a new, better model for an atom.

Explain the Theory of Special Relativity.

a. Out in space, you cannot use Earth to compare your motion to. b. There is no center to compare your motion to, so you must compare your motion relative to another object.

What is the difference between the Theory of Relativity and the Theory of Special Relativity?

a. Relativity is based on the fact that you're on Earth and using it as the object at "rest." b. Special Relativity tells us that, out in space, nothing is at rest so you can only compare speed relative to another moving object.

Explain how knowledge built itself during the last 400 years to get us to 1900.

a. Science is built on the "shoulders of giants." b. Newton discovered the laws of physics, which scientists would build off of and make new discoveries and research. c. Scientists used each other's work to advance forward. d. Religious opposition became less strict as time went on.

What was the name of the project building the atomic bomb? Who was the scientist in charge?

a. The Manhattan Project b. J. Robert Oppenheimer.

Explain Werner Heisenberg's principle. What does it help explain?

a. The Uncertainty Principle states that one cannot know all attributes of a particle. If you know the location, you cannot know the velocity. b. Particles are constantly changing; nothing is certain or at rest.

Explain Rutherford's famous experiment, what is it commonly known as?

a. The gold foil experiment. b. Rutherford aimed alpha rays at gold foil. c. While a lot went straight through, some bounced back. d. This proved that there is a very small, but very positive nucleus and that an atom is mostly empty space.