Chronology and major themes The following chronology of Einstein's scientific discoveries provides a context for the publications

listed below, and clarifies the major themes running throu gh his work. The first four entries come from his Annus Mirabilis papers or mira cle year papers. In 1905, Einstein proposed the existence of the photon, an elementary particle associated with electromagnetic radiation (light), which was the foundation of q uantum theory.[2] In 1909, Einstein showed that the photon carries momentum as w ell as energy and that electromagnetic radiation must have both particle-like an d wave-like properties if Planck's law holds; this was a forerunner of the princ iple of wave-particle duality.[3] He would go on to receive the 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics for this work. Likewise in 1905, Einstein developed a theory of Brownian motion in terms of fl uctuations in the number of molecular collisions with an object,[4] providing fu rther evidence that matter was composed of atoms. A few weeks earlier, he had de rived the Einstein relation for diffusion, which was the first example of the ge neral fluctuation-dissipation theorem and allowed a good estimate of the Avogadr o constant.[5] Additionally In 1905, Einstein developed the theory of special relativity, whic h reconciled the relativity of motion with the observed constancy of the speed o f light (a paradox of 19th-century physics).[6] Special relativity is now a core principle of physics. Its counterintuitive predictions that moving clocks run m ore slowly, that moving objects are shortened in their direction of motion, and that the order of events is not absolute have been confirmed experimentally. Also in 1905, Einstein developed his concept of Mass energy equivalence. Its rela tion E=mc2 suggested that matter was a form of energy, which was later verified by the mass defect in atomic nuclei. The energy released in nuclear reactions whic h is essential for nuclear power and nuclear weapons can be estimated from such ma ss defects.[7]

In 1907 and again in 1911, Einstein developed the first quantum theory of specif ic heats by generalizing Planck's law.[8] His theory resolved a paradox of 19thcentury physics that specific heats were often smaller than could be explained b y any classical theory. His work was also the first to show that Planck's quantu m mechanical law E=h? was a fundamental law of physics, and not merely special t o blackbody radiation.[9] Between 1907 and 1915, Einstein developed the theory of general relativity, a c lassical field theory of gravitation that provides the cornerstone for modern as trophysics and cosmology.[10] General relativity is based on the surprising idea that time and space dynamically interact with matter and energy, and has been c hecked experimentally in many ways,[11] confirming its predictions of matter aff ecting the flow of time,[12] frame dragging,[13] black holes,[14] and gravitatio nal waves.[15] In 1917, Einstein published the idea for the Einstein Brillouin Keller method for f inding the quantum mechanical version of a classical system.[16] The famous Bohr model of the hydrogen atom is a simple example, but the EBK method also gives a ccurate predictions for more complicated systems, such as the dinuclear cations H2+ and HeH2+.[17] In 1918, Einstein developed a general theory of the process by which atoms emit and absorb electromagnetic radiation (his A and B coefficients), which is the b asis of lasers (stimulated emission) and shaped the development of modern quantu m electrodynamics, the best-validated physical theory at present.[18] In 1924, together with Satyendra Nath Bose, Einstein developed the theory of Bo se Einstein statistics and Bose Einstein condensates, which form the basis for super fluidity, superconductivity, and other phenomena.[19] In 1935, together with Boris Podolsky and Nathan Rosen, Einstein put forward wh

at is now known as the EPR paradox, and argued that the quantum-mechanical wave function must be an incomplete description of the physical world.[20] In the final thirty years of his life, Einstein explored whether various classi cal unified field theories could account for both electromagnetism and gravitati on and, possibly, quantum mechanics. However, his efforts were unsuccessful, sin ce those theories did not match experimental observations.[21]