Einstein won his Nobel Prize for explaining light switches, not for relativity

Shining light on certain metals frees electrons, but only above a specific frequency: a dimmer high-frequency beam works while a blinding low-frequency one does nothing. In 1905, Einstein explained this by treating light as discrete energy packets, a paper so foundational to quantum theory it earned him the 1921 Nobel Prize.

— Albert Einstein, On a Heuristic Point of View Concerning the Production and Transformation of Light — Annalen der Physik, 1905

One credited idea per card. No filler. Swipe the rest in Savvy.

Keep swiping — it's free Works right in your browser. No app store needed.

More Science

All Science cards →
More from Albert Einstein →

Five ideas worth knowing, every week

The week's best cards and a puzzle, credited as always. Free, unsubscribe any time.