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Albert Einstein and Thomas Edison; Compare & Contrast [2]
The instruction is to compare and contrast between Albert Einstein and Thomas Edison in academic style.
Science and technology has contributed significantly in the society. Invention such as incandescent light bulb, which was created in 1879 by Thomas Edison, provided convenience to people and is still widely used (The Oxford Companion to United States History, 2001). Through the persistence of scientist in the nineteenth century, a large number of device had been invented during that period of time and has brought remarkable improvement to the society. This essay will examine the lives of two famous scientists in the nineteenth century, Albert Einstein and Thomas Edison. It will first detail their early lives, then describe their contributions to the society and finally emphasize on their recognition.
Albert Einstein and Thomas Edison had different biography before their significant discovery. With regard to education received, Albert Einstein was different from Thomas Edison. Albert Einstein received formal education where he spent his secondary education at Aarau in Switzerland and entered Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich at 17 year old (A Dictionary of Scientist, 1999). Thomas Edison, on the other hand, was expelled from his school due to his constant questioning in his class and received informal education during his childhood life where he was taught mostly by his mother (The Cambridge Dictionary of Scientists, 2003). When childhood behavior was considered, both Albert Einstein and Thomas Edison showed enthusiasm and curiousity towards different science field. For example, Albert Einstein was excited with theoretical-physical conceptual project whereas Thomas Edison showed early interest towards explanation of how everything works, specifically the principle behind a working mechanism. Other than that, in term of childhood experience, Albert Einstein differs from Thomas Edison. Thomas Edison worked as a newspaper seller and food vendor on the local railroad at the age of twelve (Encyclopedia of American Studies, 2010). He learnt telegraphy and worked as a telegraph operator during the American Civil War (The Cambridge Dictionary of Scientists, 2003). On the contrary, Albert Einstein spent most of his childhood life in school education and served in Swiss Patent Office in Bern after his graduation from Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ibid).
The contributions of Albert Einstein and Thomas Edison is still applied in various field in the society. When comparing between Albert Einstein and Thomas Edison, an aspect which should be considered is the field they contributed to. Albert Einstein contributed mostly in the field of Physic where he explained Brownian motion, photoelectric effect and the special theory of relativity which was further derived by him to obtain equation e=mc2, relating mass and energy (The Cambridge Dictionary of Scientists, 2003). On the other hand, Thomas Edison contributed mostly to the society with his invention of incandescent light bulb. To be more precise, the light bulb is more applicable in the society compared to the theories and principles introduced by Albert Einstein. In term of application of their contribution, Albert Einstein's special equation, e=mc2, was more applicable in specific field, Physic, in which electricity was generated through the understanding of the equation and nuclear chain reaction. With regard to Thomas Edison, his invention of the incandescent light bulb is considerably more applicable in a wide range of field. In other words, the light bulb is significantly more accessible by the public compared to Einstein's Physic theories.
Scientists of the nineteenth century should be remembered and appreciated for their contribution towards the world. It is generally accepted that both Albert Einstein and Thomas Edison are famous scientists. In term of Nobel Prize, Albert Einstein received one for his contribution to the field of Physic ( The Oxford International Encyclopedia of Peace, 2010). Although Thomas did not receive a Nobel Prize, he was known as 'the Wizard of Menlo Park' due to his amazing invention of light bulb and phonograph (The Crystal Reference Encyclopedia, 2005). Other common type of recognition include publishing of books about both scientists.
To summarize, both Albert Einstein and Thomas Edison were well respected as great scientist who did not give up when facing difficulties such as failure in experiment or poor family background. For example, Thomas Edison faced numerous failures when he was inventing the light bulb. However, he persisted and went through a significant amount of trial and error testing before finding the suitable material to be used as filament in the light bulb. As a conclusion, both scientists came from a relatively poor childhood environment, yet their persistence in their career lead them to their remarkable discoveries.
