Re: Langevin's paradox again

On 2024-07-14 08:22:56 +0000, Thomas Heger said:

 [ … ]

 

Not only his age was a problem.
 Einstein had a number of other problem, he had to overcome, to become a genius:
 he worked in the 'Patentamt' (patent office) of Bern for six days a week with ten hours each.
 This is a lot of time, but those were the conditions of work in the early 20th century.
 He had also a young family with a beautiful wife and a small kid, who would certainly occupy a few of the few hours left.
 In these few remaining hours he wrote in 1905 alone four ground-breaking papers, of which one won him a Nobel prize.
 Besides of that he also nwrote twenty reviews for 'Annalen der Physik' in the same year.
(I wonder how he had managed to get at least some sleep).
 But there a few more problems to overcome:
 computers were not invented then, nor xerox copiers.
 Therefore, he had to have all books in physical form in his own posession.
 This was expensive and also a lot to read.

Have you ever written and published a scientific paper? OK, if you're the Thomas Heger that wrote
Thomas Heger and Madhukar C. Pandit "Optical wear assessment system for grinding tools," Journal of Electronic Imaging 13(3), (2004)
and
T. Heger and M. Pandit, “Automatisierte Verschleißbeurteilung von Schleifscheiben mit Mitteln der digitalen Bildverarbeitung,” in Automat. Praxis 4, 50–56 (2002).
then maybe you have, though that's not exactly physics, or even science at all (technology, rather).
Anyway, in 50 years of research I have frequently cited work in books and jounals of which  I don't own personal copies. Research would be impossible otherwise. The thing is, though, that unlike you I know about libraries and how to use them. That was surely true of Einstein as well. If you belong to an appropriate institution that's not expensive, it's free.
I have never worked in a patent office, but I feel sure that the work would include studying what had already been described. For that, access to a library would be essential.

 It was also a lot to write, but without any kind of aid. Usual tools were pens (or ocasionally feathers and ink).
 Since only nights were left over for free thinking, he had to write his masterpieces at the kitchen table, lit by candle light

Are you serious? Electric lighting was widespread by the beginning of the 20th century, and had probably reached Switzerland by then.

 (while his wife snores and the kind crys).
 ...
 TH

--
Athel -- French and British, living in Marseilles for 37 years; mainly in England until 1987.