Your tributes to Einstein’s feats

You wrote from Nigeria and China, India and Pakistan, Iran and Singapore — hundreds of e-mails from around the globe to pay tribute to Albert Einstein and his most famous equation, E=mc².

When we asked MSNBC.com users to name the famous physicist's "most influential achievement," his formula for the equivalence of mass and energy was the clear favorite among the more than 350 responses. After all, there are few other equations that have had books, movies and miniseries named after them. And although it's unfair to blame nuclear weapons on E=mc², the equation and the bomb are still closely linked in the popular view of Einstein's work.

But that's not Einstein's only achievement, and in the view of many people in the know, not even the most important one. John Rigden, a physicist at the Washington University of St. Louis who wrote the book "Einstein 1905," argues that Einstein's theories on the particle nature of light, often referred to as the photoelectric effect, should trump relativity in his personal pantheon.

"Relativity is very important, and it is a revolutionary theory as we now look back on it and see the way it has influenced physics through the century," he said. "But at the time, relativity could not be considered a revolutionary theory, because many ideas were in the air, and many other people were thinking things that could be considered elements of the theory."

Some MSNBC users agreed, while others had yet other nominations for Einstein's most influential achievement. Here's a sampling of the e-mail we've received in the past week or so:

Walter Cicha, chemist and Einstein lecturer/historian, Schenectady, N.Y.: "[Einstein's most influential achievement was] the photoelectric effect. This was the real beginning of quantum mechanics, the most important and controversial theory of 20th-century physics. Its presence is felt in much of our modern technology, including the vast number of satellites circling the globe which are so critical for most modern forms of communication. The satellites are powered by solar cells — the most prevalent of many direct applications of the photoelectric effect — which in turn are powered by our friendly star, the sun. Photovoltaics (a fancy term for light to electricity conversion) will play an increasingly important role in helping solve our energy needs of the future. The Nobel Committee had it right when they awarded the 1921 Physics Nobel Prize to Einstein predominantly for the photoelectric effect. Relativity was not even mentioned, although this was the focus of his belated acceptance speech."

Noel, Toledo, Ohio: "The photon. His other achievements were all going to be discovered sooner or later. The background knowledge was there, but his idea of a photon — light as a particle — is fundamental and has so many implications in today's society that it is the best and the most influential."

Alan Fay, State College, Pa.: "Einstein's greatest achievement was his most practical one —explaining the photoelectric effect. He thus made possible photovoltaic solar cells and the whole semiconductor industry, as well as helping us understand light. How strange that the man who gave us the power to blow up the planet's face also gave us the ability to convert sunlight directly into electrical energy!"

Russell Moore, Rochester, Minn.: "I must say his special theory of relativity is by far the most influential. The photoelectric effect may have helped us understand light, but I believe the general public gets a bigger kick out of how unstable our knowledge is. Even the simplest things such as sound with the Doppler effect or what we see related to the speed of light is all dependent on our perspective; nothing is absolute. As a senior, I am well aware that this concept will still make me uneasy even when I am well along in my later years."

Syed S. Hossain, Dhaka, Bangladesh: "Einstein's most influential achievement seems to be his imposition of the value c ... as an absolute constant of measure in the universe. He imposed the speed of light in a vacuum as the limit of any speed. And the mathematics were made to work out. Whether we can attain that high speed or not is not the focus, but rather the fact that we have stopped thinking or imagining any higher magnitude of speed than the speed of light in free space."

Nick Robertson, Alexandria, Va.: "E=mc². It 'only' drives nuclear weapons and fission reactors today, but in 50 years or so, it will power fusion reactors that will deliver power so cheap it will be almost free. And where will that lead? I can't wait to find out."

Mark Younger, Bradenton, Fla.: "The profound insight to realize that time is not absolute but relative. Nine out of ten people still don't know this. It has a profound effect on everything from the big bang to 'supernatural' things being possible within the laws of physics. The fact that someone thought of this in 1905 (actually when he was a teenager) is even more profound. Even though most people are stuck in Newtonian physics, that is not the way things work."

C.D.L., Dallas: "His theories ... inspired boundless waves of technology, including the luxuries that we enjoy today, i.e., a society moving toward a paperless existence. Just look how far we've come in 100 years. Love computers? Then ya better love old Al."

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