EINSTEIN, Albert (1879-1955)
11.12.2024 00:00UTC +00:00
Classic
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CHRISTIE'SAuctioneer | CHRISTIE'S |
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Event location | United Kingdom, London |
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ID 1349760
Lot 152 | EINSTEIN, Albert (1879-1955)
Estimate value
15000GBP £ 15 000 – 20 000
‘Eine neue Bestimmung der Moleküldimensionen’. Offprint from: Annalen der Physik, 4th Series, vol. 19. Leipzig: Johann Ambrosius Barth, 1906.
Rare second edition, author's offprint issue, of Einstein's doctoral thesis, from the library of pioneering theoretical physicist Arnold Sommerfeld (1868-1951). This initial step towards his more famous work on Brownian motion was first printed in Bern in 1905 before republication by the Annalen der Physik in 1906. ‘According to a study done by Abraham Pais in the 1970s, between 1961 and 1975 it was quoted more than any other scientific paper written prior to 1912, including Einstein's papers on relativity’ (Mlodinow).
Einstein initially submitted a dissertation to the University of Zurich in 1901 but withdrew it the following year. In his second attempt in 1905 he ‘combined the techniques of classical hydrodynamics with those of the theory of diffusion to create a new method for the determination of molecular sizes and of Avogadro's number, a method he applied to solute sugar molecules […] The dissertation also marked the first major success in Einstein's effort to find further evidence for the atomic hypothesis, an effort that culminated in his explanation of Brownian motion’ (Stachel).
Arnold Sommerfeld was a German theoretical physicist who made significant contributions to atomic and quantum physics. He extended Niels Bohr's atomic model by introducing elliptical orbits for electrons and proposed additional quantum numbers, including the azimuthal and magnetic quantum numbers. Sommerfeld also introduced the fine-structure constant, contributed to X-ray wave theory, and co-discovered the Sommerfeld-Wilson quantization rules. His seminal work Atombau und Spektrallinien became a foundational text for the new generation of physicists developing atomic and quantum physics. Sommerfeld was an exceptional educator, mentoring 7 Nobel Prize winners and numerous other prominent physicists. Despite being nominated for the Nobel Prize a record 84 times, he never received the award. Nevertheless, he was honoured with several prestigious accolades, including the Lorentz Medal, the Max-Planck Medal, and the Oersted Medal, and was elected to numerous scientific academies worldwide. In 1918, Sommerfeld succeeded Einstein as chair of the Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft, and in 1922 Einstein wrote to his successor: ‘What I especially admire about you is that you have, as it were, pounded out of the soil such a large number of young talents’ (A. Pais, ‘Subtle is the Lord...’: The Science and Life of Albert Einstein, 1982). L. Mlodinow, Euclid's Window. New York: Touchstone, 2002; J. Stachel, Einstein's Miraculous Year. Five Papers that Changed the Face of Physics. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1998.
This author's offprint can be distinguished from the normal 'trade' edition by the statement 'Überreicht vom Verfasser' on the wrapper. Extremely rare; we have not been able to trace any copy appearing at auction (RBH/ABSAA). BRL 6.1; Weil 7a.
Octavo (224 x 144mm). Paginated 289-306. Original printed wrappers (a few tiny nicks). Provenance: Arnold Sommerfeld (1868-1951; red chinagraph underlining and numbering to upper wrapper).
Artist: | Albert Einstein (1879 - 1955) |
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Place of origin: | Western Europe, Germany, Europe |
Auction house category: | Books and manuscripts, Printed books |
Artist: | Albert Einstein (1879 - 1955) |
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Place of origin: | Western Europe, Germany, Europe |
Auction house category: | Books and manuscripts, Printed books |
Address of auction |
CHRISTIE'S 8 King Street, St. James's SW1Y 6QT London United Kingdom | |
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Phone | +44 (0)20 7839 9060 | |
Buyer Premium | see on Website | |
Conditions of purchase | Conditions of purchase |
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