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Article: Einstein vs. Millikan: being wrong sometimes wins the prize.
- Article from:
- The Evening Standard (London, England)
- Article date:
- February 1, 2002
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2002 Carus Publishing Co. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Have you ever felt a need to prove that you were right and your friend was wrong? Scientists often have these feelings. Robert Millikan (1868-1953), an American physicist, felt that way about Albert Einstein. We consider Einstein a genius. But it wasn't always that way. Although he was respected among his peers, they sometimes did not agree completely with his ideas.
For example, in 1905, Einstein proposed that light was made up of tiny particles of energy called photons, and that these bundles traveled through the atmosphere like bullets.
"Impossible," said some physicists. "Ridiculous," said others. Today, scientists agree that light has a dual nature ...