Einstein relation (kinetic theory) in the context of Marian Smoluchowski

The annus mirabilis papers (from Latin: annus mirabilis, lit. 'miraculous year') are four papers that Albert Einstein published in the scientific journal Annalen der Physik (Annals of Physics) in 1905. As major contributions to the foundation of modern physics, these scientific publications were the ones for which he gained fame among physicists. They revolutionized science's understanding of the fundamental concepts of space, time, mass, and energy.

1. The first paper explained the photoelectric effect, which established the energy of the light quanta ${\displaystyle E=hf}$, and was the only specific discovery mentioned in the citation awarding Einstein the 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics.
2. The second paper explained Brownian motion, which established the Einstein relation ${\displaystyle D=\mu \,k_{\text{B}}T}$ and compelled physicists to accept the existence of atoms.
3. The third paper introduced Einstein's special theory of relativity, which proclaims the constancy of the speed of light ${\displaystyle c}$ and derives the Lorentz transformations. Einstein also examined relativistic aberration and the transverse Doppler effect.
4. The fourth, a consequence of special relativity, developed the principle of mass–energy equivalence, expressed in the equation ${\displaystyle E=mc^{2}}$ and which led to the discovery and use of nuclear power decades later.

These four papers, together with quantum mechanics and Einstein's later general theory of relativity, are the foundation of modern physics.

Albert Einstein (1879–1955) was a renowned theoretical physicist of the 20th century, best known for his special and general theories of relativity. He also made important contributions to statistical mechanics, especially by his treatment of Brownian motion, his resolution of the paradox of specific heats, and his connection of fluctuations and dissipation. Despite his reservations about its interpretation, Einstein also made seminal contributions to quantum mechanics and, indirectly, quantum field theory, primarily through his theoretical studies of the photon.

Einstein's writings, including his scientific publications, have been digitized and released on the Internet with English translations by a consortium of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Princeton University Press, and the California Institute of Technology, called the Einstein Papers Project.