Einsteinpedia

§ IV — The Record

Papers

He published more than 300 scientific papers. These are the ones that moved physics, in the order he wrote them.

YearPaperPublished InWhy It Matters
1905 On a Heuristic Point of View about the Creation and Conversion of LightÜber einen die Erzeugung und Verwandlung des Lichtes betreffenden heuristischen Gesichtspunkt Annalen der Physik 17, pp. 132–148 Source Proposes that light consists of energy quanta and explains the photoelectric effect. Cited in his Nobel Prize.
1905 A New Determination of Molecular DimensionsEine neue Bestimmung der Moleküldimensionen Doctoral thesis, University of Zurich; Annalen der Physik 19 (1906), pp. 289–306 Source Estimates the size of molecules and Avogadro's number from the viscosity of sugar solutions.
1905 On the Motion of Small Particles Suspended in a Stationary Liquid, as Required by the Molecular Kinetic Theory of HeatÜber die von der molekularkinetischen Theorie der Wärme geforderte Bewegung von in ruhenden Flüssigkeiten suspendierten Teilchen Annalen der Physik 17, pp. 549–560 Source Explains Brownian motion and gives a way to confirm that atoms exist.
1905 On the Electrodynamics of Moving BodiesZur Elektrodynamik bewegter Körper Annalen der Physik 17, pp. 891–921 Source The special theory of relativity.
1905 Does the Inertia of a Body Depend Upon Its Energy Content?Ist die Trägheit eines Körpers von seinem Energieinhalt abhängig? Annalen der Physik 18, pp. 639–641 Source Mass–energy equivalence, later written E = mc².
1907 Planck's Theory of Radiation and the Theory of Specific HeatDie Plancksche Theorie der Strahlung und die Theorie der spezifischen Wärme Annalen der Physik 22, pp. 180–190 Source The first quantum theory of a solid.
1907 On the Relativity Principle and the Conclusions Drawn from ItÜber das Relativitätsprinzip und die aus demselben gezogenen Folgerungen Jahrbuch der Radioaktivität und Elektronik 4, pp. 411–462 Source First statement of the equivalence principle; predicts that gravity slows clocks.
1909 On the Development of Our Views Concerning the Nature and Constitution of RadiationÜber die Entwickelung unserer Anschauungen über das Wesen und die Konstitution der Strahlung Physikalische Zeitschrift 10, pp. 817–825 Source Shows that light has both wave and particle character.
1910 Theory of the Opalescence of Homogeneous Fluids and Liquid Mixtures near the Critical StateTheorie der Opaleszenz von homogenen Flüssigkeiten und Flüssigkeitsgemischen in der Nähe des kritischen Zustandes Annalen der Physik 33, pp. 1275–1298 Source Explains light scattering by density fluctuations, and with it the blue of the sky.
1911 On the Influence of Gravitation on the Propagation of LightÜber den Einfluß der Schwerkraft auf die Ausbreitung des Lichtes Annalen der Physik 35, pp. 898–908 Source His first published prediction that the Sun bends starlight.
1913 Outline of a Generalized Theory of Relativity and of a Theory of Gravitation (with Marcel Grossmann)Entwurf einer verallgemeinerten Relativitätstheorie und einer Theorie der Gravitation B. G. Teubner, Leipzig (1913); reprinted in Zeitschrift für Mathematik und Physik 62 (1914), pp. 225–261 Source Gravity described for the first time by the geometry of spacetime.
1915 Experimental Proof of Ampère's Molecular Currents (with Wander de Haas)Experimenteller Nachweis der Ampèreschen Molekularströme Verhandlungen der Deutschen Physikalischen Gesellschaft 17, pp. 152–170 Source The Einstein–de Haas effect, his best-known experimental work.
1915 Explanation of the Perihelion Motion of Mercury from the General Theory of RelativityErklärung der Perihelbewegung des Merkur aus der allgemeinen Relativitätstheorie Sitzungsberichte der Preussischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, pp. 831–839 Source The first observational success of general relativity.
1915 The Field Equations of GravitationDie Feldgleichungen der Gravitation Sitzungsberichte der Preussischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, pp. 844–847 Source The final field equations, presented on 25 November 1915.
1916 The Foundation of the General Theory of RelativityDie Grundlage der allgemeinen Relativitätstheorie Annalen der Physik 49, pp. 769–822 Source The full, systematic presentation of the theory.
1916 Approximate Integration of the Field Equations of GravitationNäherungsweise Integration der Feldgleichungen der Gravitation Sitzungsberichte der Preussischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, pp. 688–696 Source Predicts gravitational waves.
1917 On the Quantum Theory of RadiationZur Quantentheorie der Strahlung Physikalische Zeitschrift 18 (first printed in Mitteilungen der Physikalischen Gesellschaft Zürich, 1916), pp. 121–128 Source Introduces stimulated emission and shows that light quanta carry momentum.
1917 Cosmological Considerations on the General Theory of RelativityKosmologische Betrachtungen zur allgemeinen Relativitätstheorie Sitzungsberichte der Preussischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, pp. 142–152 Source The first relativistic model of the universe; introduces the cosmological constant.
1918 On Gravitational WavesÜber Gravitationswellen Sitzungsberichte der Preussischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, pp. 154–167 Source His second paper on gravitational waves.
1924 Quantum Theory of the Monatomic Ideal GasQuantentheorie des einatomigen idealen Gases Sitzungsberichte der Preussischen Akademie der Wissenschaften (two parts, 1924 and 1925), 1924: 261–267; 1925: 3–14 Source Bose–Einstein statistics, and the prediction of the condensate.
1932 On the Relation between the Expansion and the Mean Density of the Universe (with Willem de Sitter) Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 18, pp. 213–214 Source The Einstein–de Sitter model of an expanding universe.
1935 Can Quantum-Mechanical Description of Physical Reality Be Considered Complete? (with Boris Podolsky and Nathan Rosen) Physical Review 47, pp. 777–780 Source The EPR argument, which brought entanglement to light.
1935 The Particle Problem in the General Theory of Relativity (with Nathan Rosen) Physical Review 48, pp. 73–77 Source The Einstein–Rosen bridge, the original wormhole.
1936 Lens-Like Action of a Star by the Deviation of Light in the Gravitational Field Science 84, pp. 506–507 Source Gravitational lensing and the Einstein ring.
1937 On Gravitational Waves (with Nathan Rosen) Journal of the Franklin Institute 223, pp. 43–54 Source Exact wave solutions, published after he withdrew a version claiming the waves did not exist.