Science Corridor: Albert Einstein, James Joule and Nikola Tesla

Albert Einstein

 Albert Einstein was a German-born theoretical physicist who is widely considered one of the most influential scientists of the 20th century. He developed the theory of general relativity and made groundbreaking contributions to the understanding of the photoelectric effect, the nature of light, and the universe as a whole. He received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1921. He died in 1955.

 In addition to his scientific contributions, Einstein was also known for his political and social activism. He was a vocal advocate for civil rights and pacifism, and he publicly spoke out against racism and anti-Semitism. He was a member of the NAACP and supported the civil rights movement in the United States. He also publicly spoke out against nuclear weapons and the arms race, and he advocated for world government as a means of achieving world peace.

 Einstein also had a significant impact on the field of cosmology, with his theory of general relativity helping to reshape our understanding of the universe and leading to the development of the Big Bang theory. His famous equation, E=mc², demonstrated the relationship between energy and mass, and it played a crucial role in the development of nuclear energy.

 Einstein’s work and ideas continue to be studied and debated by scientists and philosophers today, and his name is synonymous with genius and innovation.

James Joule

James Joule was an English physicist and brewer who is best known for his work on the nature of heat and the relationship between heat and mechanical work. He was born on December 1818, in Salford, England, and died on October 1889.

Joule’s work laid the foundation for the study of thermodynamics, and he is best known for his experiments that demonstrated the conservation of energy, also known as the first law of thermodynamics. He discovered that heat and mechanical work are equivalent and that they can be converted into one another. This led to the development of the concept of “mechanical equivalent of heat” also known as Joule’s Law. He also discovered the Joule–Thomson effect, which states that the temperature of a gas decreases as it expands adiabatically.

Joule’s work was instrumental in the development of the Second law of thermodynamics and the concept of entropy. He also made significant contributions to the understanding of the behavior of gases and the relationship between temperature, pressure, and volume.

Joule’s work was recognized by the scientific community in his lifetime, and he received many honors and awards for his contributions, including the Rumford Medal from the Royal Society in 1872 and the Copley Medal in 1889. Today, the SI unit of energy, the joule, is named in his honor.

Nikola Tesla

Nikola Tesla was a Serbian-American inventor, electrical engineer, mechanical engineer, and futurist who is best known for his contributions to the design of the modern alternating current (AC) electricity supply system. He was born on July 1856 in Smiljan, Croatia and died on January 1943 in New York City.

Tesla studied at the Austrian Polytechnic in Graz and later at the Charles-Ferdinand University in Prague. He worked as an assistant to Thomas Edison and later as an inventor in his own right. He is credited with designing the first hydroelectric power plant in Niagara Falls and developing the Tesla coil, which is still used in radio technology today.

Tesla is also known for his work on wireless communication, X-rays, and the development of the first functional radar system. He held over 300 patents for his inventions, including those for the AC motor and the Tesla coil. He had a lifelong feud with his former employer Thomas Edison, who is said to have spread false information to undermine Tesla’s work and reputation.

Despite his many contributions to the field of electrical engineering, Tesla died in poverty and his work was largely unrecognized during his lifetime. However, in recent years, there has been a resurgence of interest in his work and legacy, and he is now widely considered to be one of the most important inventors of the modern age.

James A. Mirrlees: The Economist and Nobel laureate who revolutionized welfare economics

 Today I chose to write about James A. Mirrlees. He was born in July 1936 in Scotland, and died in Aughout 2018. He was a Scottish economist. He attended school in NewTon Stewart. During his career he was a professor at different universities such as MIT, Oxford and mostly at Cambridge where he was working as a Cambridge chair until he passed away in 2018. James A. Mirrlees was awarded the Economic Sciences Prize in 1993. He was a lecturer at the University of Cambridge (1963–68) before moving to the University of Oxford in 1969. In 1995 he returned to Cambridge, where he became professor. Mirrlees started his work with the assumption that the government should take money from the rich and give it to the poor.

Mirrlees made significant contributions to the field of welfare economics, particularly in the area of optimal income taxation. He proposed the concept of a “Mirrlees tax” which is a theoretical construct that represents an optimal income tax system. He also made important contributions to the study of moral hazard and adverse selection, which are related to the problem of asymmetric information in economics.

His contributions to welfare economics were not only groundbreaking but also continue to be widely used and studied in academic and policy circles today. He will always be remembered for his pioneering work and for shaping the way we think about optimal income taxation and welfare economics.

When that curious English publication, Who’s Who, first asked me for an entry, my normal inclination to brighten up dark corners led me to list as my recreations “playing the piano, reading detective stories and other forms of mathematics, traveling, listening”. I did not suppose that anyone would have much reason to read it, but in these last two months it seems many have, and, looking at it again, I find no reason to change it, though I should now add other reading and computer programming. Everything is to be interpreted there in the broadest sense, as at least those (few) who have heard me play the piano may agree.

James A. Mirrlees speech (in English)

Majesties, Your Royal Highness, Ladies, and Gentlemen․

The Nobel Prizes are about discovery and creation. It is the excitement of new discovery that they celebrate. It is wonderful to be a part of that celebration.

Economists are accustomed, perhaps surprisingly, to think about the world in terms of what I can only call proverbs. “There is no free lunch”. This week has gone some way to disproving it. “Bygones are bygones”. Apparently not: one’s old work comes back now, and you encourage us to enjoy again what was once new. What proverbs, I wonder, are suggested by the work that Professor Vickrey and I have done? Perhaps, for a start, we have done a little to penetrate the “veil of ignorance”.

Yet, corrupting some famous words, we might be felt to have shown that “One can tax all of the people some of the time; and some of the people all of the time; and if we put our minds to it, we can tax all of the people all of the time.” The dismal science lives up to its reputation! Indeed, during these last few weeks, one of my former students, a Chinese economist, has been talking about my work in China. He has translated his version back from the Chinese: “Let the people tell the truth. Let the people work hard.” It is amazing what becomes of discoveries once they are let loose in the world. You have been warned.

As you may know, according to economic theory, a prize once awarded should actually induce recipients to work less hard; and is therefore supposed to be not entirely good. But now I am of the opinion that, in the words of a Cambridge colleague, it is not entirely bad either. Thank you.


James A. Mirrlees speech (in Armenian)

Ձերնտ թագավորական մեծություն, տիկնայք և պարոնայք։

Նոբելյան մրցանակները բացահայտումների և ստեղծագործությունների մասին են։ Նրանք նշում են նոր հայնագործության հուզմունքը։ Հրանալի է լինել այդ տոնակատարության մի մասը։

Տնտեսագետները սովոր են, թերևս զարմանալիորեն աշխարհի մասին մտածել այն, ինչ ես կարող եմ կոչել կամ անվանել ասացվածքներ։ Չկա ազատ լանչ։ Այս շաբաթը որոշակիորեն հերքեց դա։ <<Անցյալները անցյալ են>>։ Ըստ երևույթին ոչ, որևե մեկի հին աշխատանքը հիմա վերադառնում է և դուք մեզ խրախուսում եք կրկին վայելել այն, ինչը նախկինում նոր էր։ Հետաքրքիր է, որ ասացվածքներն են հուշում իմ և պրոֆեսր Վիքրեյի կատարած աշխատանքը։ Ենթադրենք, սկզբում, մենք փոքր ինչ ներթափանցել ենք դեպի <<անտեղյակության շղարշ>>:

Արդուհանդերձ, ապականելով որոշ հայտնի խոսքեր, մենք ցույց ենք տվել, որ․ <<Ինչ որ կեմը կարող է հարկեր վերցնել բոլոր մարդանցից որոշ ժամանակ, և որոշ մարդիկ ամբողջ ժամանակ, և եթե մեր միտքը կենտրոնացնենք դրա վրա, մենք կարող ենք հարկեր վերցնել բոլոր մարդկանցից ամեն ժամանակ>>։ Տխուր գիտությունը համապատասխանում է իր հեղինակությանը։ Իսկապես, այս վերջին մի քանի շաբաթվա ընթացքում իմ նախկին ուսանողներից մեկը, չինացի տնտեսագետ, խոսում էր Չինաստանում իմ աշխատանքի մասին։ Նա Չինարենից թարգմանել է իր տարբերակը. <<Թող ժողովուրդն ասի ճշմարտությունը, թող ժողովուրդ ժրաջանորեն աշխատի>>։ Զարմանալի է, թե ինչ է ստացվում հայտնագործություններից, երբ դրանք բաց են թողնվում աշխարհ։ Ձեզ նախազգուշացրել են։

Ինչպես գիտեք, ըստ տնտեսական տեսության, մեկ անգամ շնորհված մրցանակը, պետք է ստիպի ստացողներին ավելի քիչ աշխատել, և հետևաբար ենթադրվում է, որ այն ամբողջովին լավը չէ։ Բայց հիմա ես այն կարծիքին եմ, որ Քեմբրիջի գործընկերոջ խոսքերով, այն ամբողջովին վատը չէ։ Շնորհակալություն։