The Essential Einstein: Scientific Writings

Albert Einstein, Diana Kormos Buchwald, Tilman Sauer

• Publisher: Princeton University Press
• Year: 2025
• Print ISBN:
  9780691131078
• eBook ISBN:
  9780691272184
• Topic: Physical Sciences
• Subtopic: Science & Technology Biographies

The ultimate collection of Einstein’s scientific writings on everything from statistical mechanics to general relativity

The Essential Einstein: Scientific Writings presents Einstein’s most important physics papers, spanning his groundbreaking contributions to statistical mechanics, quantum theory, and relativity as well as his ambitious yet ultimately unrealized attempts at a general unified field theory. This incisive collection contains works that profoundly influenced the trajectory of modern science. Each piece serves not only as a reflection of his intellectual rigor and creativity but also as a cornerstone of contemporary scientific thought.

The Essential Einstein is a two-volume compendium offering general readers and specialists alike a comprehensive resource on the pivotal writings of Albert Einstein. Organized chronologically by leading authorities on Einstein and his work, this collection illuminates the evolution of Einstein’s scientific and humanistic ideas throughout his life. Each selection is accompanied by explanatory notes that detail the work’s background and significance.

Together with The Essential Einstein: Public Writings, this authoritative collection invites a deeper engagement with the intellectual legacy and enduring influence of Albert Einstein.

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Introduction to the Scientific Writings
• 1 A Theory of the Foundations of Thermodynamics (1903)
• 2 On a Heuristic Point of View Concerning the Production and Transformation of Light (1905)
• 3 On the Motion of Small Particles Suspended in Liquids at Rest Required by the Molecular-Kinetic Theory of Heat (1905)
• 4 On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies (1905)
• 5 Does the Inertia of a Body Depend upon Its Energy Content? (1905)
• 6 On the Theory of Light Production and Light Absorption (1906)
• 7 Planck’s Theory of Radiation and the Theory of Specific Heat (1907)
• 8 On the Relativity Principle and the Conclusions Drawn from It (1907)
• 9 On the Present Status of the Radiation Problem (1909)
• 10 On the Development of Our Views Concerning the Nature and Constitution of Radiation (1909)
• 11 On the Influence of Gravitation on the Propagation of Light (1911)
• 12 Thermodynamic Proof of the Law of Photochemical Equivalence (1912)
• 13 Experimental Proof of Ampère’s Molecular Currents (1915) with W. de Haas
• 14 Explanation of the Perihelion Motion of Mercury from the General Theory of Relativity (1915)
• 15 The Foundation of the General Theory of Relativity (1916)
• 16 Approximative Integration of the Field Equations of Gravitation (1916)
• 17 On the Quantum Theory of Radiation (1916)
• 18 Hamilton’s Principle and the General Theory of Relativity (1916)
• 19 Cosmological Considerations in the General Theory of Relativity (1917)
• 20 On Gravitational Waves (1918)
• 21 On the Foundations of the General Theory of Relativity (1918)
• 22 The Law of Energy Conservation in the General Theory of Relativity (1918)
• 23 Does Field Theory Provide Possibilities for the Solution of the Quantum Problem? (1923)
• 24 Quantum Theory of the Monatomic Ideal Gas (1924)
• 25 Quantum Theory of the Monatomic Ideal Gas. Second Paper (1925)
• 26 Unified Field Theory of Gravitation and Electricity (1925)
• 27 Patent of Refrigerator (1927) with L. Szilard
• 28 Unified Field Theory Based on Riemannian Metric and Distant Parallelism (1930)
• 29 On the Cosmological Problem of the General Theory of Relativity (1931)
• 30 On the Relation between the Expansion and the Mean Density of the Universe (1932) with W. de Sitter
• 31 Elementary Derivation of the Equivalence of Mass and Energy (1935)
• 32 Can Quantum-Mechanical Description of Physical Reality Be Considered Complete? (1935) with B. Podolsky and N. Rosen
• 33 The Particle Problem in the General Theory of Relativity (1935) with N. Rosen
• 34 Lens-like Action of a Star by the Deflection of Light in a Gravitational Field (1936)
• 35 On a Generalization of Kaluza’s Theory of Electricity (1938) with P. Bergmann
• 36 The Gravitational Equations and the Problem of Motion [Excerpt] (1937) with L. Infeld and B. Hoffmann
• 37 On the Non-Existence of Regular Stationary Solutions of Relativistic Field Equations (1943) with W. Pauli
• 38 Relativistic Theory of the Non-symmetric Field (1955)
• Bibliography
• Index