John S. Rigden to Give a Talk at Brookhaven Lab on Albert Einstein's Revolutionary Discoveries in Physics, November 10
October 11, 2005
John S. Rigden
UPTON, NY - In honor of the World Year of Physics 2005 - a United Nations-endorsed international celebration of physics - physicist John S. Rigden, author of Einstein 1905: The Standard of Greatness (Harvard University Press, 2005) will give a talk in Berkner Hall at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory on Thursday, November 10, at 4 p.m. Sponsored by Brookhaven Science Associates, the company that manages Brookhaven Lab, Rigden's talk, which has the same title as his book about Einstein, is free and open to the public. All visitors to the Laboratory age 16 and over must bring a photo ID.
A century ago, Albert Einstein published five papers in six months that laid the groundwork for modern physics. In his talk, Rigden will describe these findings and their significance. In brief, Einstein's 1905 published findings are: his particle theory of light, known as the photoelectric effect; his dissertation on molecular dimensions; his theory on Brownian motion; his theory on special relativity; and his famous equation, E = mc2. Rigden maintains that Einstein's groundbreaking five papers, written when he was 26 years old working as a clerk in a patent office, elevate him in importance above all other twentieth-century scientists.
Rigden, who is currently an honorary professor of physics at Washington University in St. Louis, received a B.S. from Eastern Nazarene College, a Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University, and was a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard University. After holding several academic positions, Rigden joined the American Institute of Physics in 1987 as director of physics programs. Ridgen is a molecular physicist as well as a science historian.
Rigden is author of Physics and the Sound of Music, Rabi: Scientist and Citizen, and Hydrogen: The Essential Element, in addition to his recently published book on Einstein. His book on hydrogen was named one of the 20 best science books of 2002 by the magazine Discover. Rigden has also edited academic as well as popular science books. He is currently editor of the scholarly journal Physics in Perspective. Rigden is a Fellow of both the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American Physical Society.
Call 631 344-2345 for more information. The Laboratory is located on William Floyd Parkway (County Road 46), one-and-a-half miles north of Exit 68 of the Long Island Expressway.
2005-10381 | INT/EXT | Newsroom
