Prof. Einstein in the aircraft production?

[rammjaeger]

I was just reading through an old source book describing the German Merkur-Flugzeugbau in Berlin and realised surprised the following sentence:
"Wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter ist Herr Prof. Dr. Einstein."
"Scientific assistant is Mr Prof. Dr. Einstein." (ca 1917/18 )
I don´t think there were many Prof. Dr. Einsteins existent.
Therefore I think he is THE EINSTEIN!

Anything known about Einsteins activities in the German aircraft industry? Any biography reporting about his work?
Did he prepare the "Wunderwaffe" for the emperor Willy or did he just "sabotage" the production with brilliant ideas? *;D

VBR
Rammjaeger

No doubt Einstein took leave from his lucrative research position at the Prussian Academy of Sciences and his non-teaching position at the University of Berlin in order to work as an assistant at the Merkur firm. My theory is that this gave him a chance to test his special theory of relativity as it applies to the attachment of single-spar lower wings on Albatros single-seater designs.

[rammjaeger]

Hi Michael,
who told you he had a full time job there? *;D

I am very serious here: Think about corresponding members of universities! Why should aircraft factories not use a similar procedure, also if there is need for more practical results of physic? A lot of famous scientists had (often more or less forced) to deal with lesser important things than the relativity.
BTW Einstein is surprisingly a rare name - at least in Germany.
Also "Professoren" were a very rare breed in Germany - not everybody giving some lectures was getting this title.

Anyway! I imagine the plot for a movie called not "Einstein junior" but "The magnificant Einstein in his flying crate"! *

VBR
Rammjaeger

[Amy]

Hi Hannes:

That is interesting what you've stumbled upon. It's been awhile since I've read up on Einstein, but if I remember correctly, Einstein was an ardent pacifist. Maybe aircraft production wasn't too bad for him to keep working in the scientific world? ???

Referencing another thread, perhaps Einstein's dying and prophetic words to his nurse were, "Tell Hannes that the Wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter he reads about in the future is really me."

Amy

[rammjaeger]

Amy,

the reasons against a working relation of Einstein in the aircraft production are doubtless overwhelming but I think I met a social need for conspiracy theories here! *

Let us assume there was a cheating braggart claiming (and convincing the enterprise Merkur and the Idflieg) that he was actually "Einstein". *8)

Cases of wrong knights of the Pour le mérite or other orders were known in WWI in Germany! *

The question is still open for speculations:
Who was "Prof. Dr. Einstein"? Any suggestion welcome!

VBR
Rammjaeger

PS: >>Referencing another thread, perhaps Einstein's dying and prophetic words to his nurse were, "Tell Hannes that the Wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter he reads about in the future is really me."<< ... Yes, but E. should have used English language! *> * :'(

[rammjaeger]

BTW identical names are not always confusing!
The following Max Immelmann is NOT fighter pilot Max Immelmann:

>>Immelmann, Max, 1864-1923.

Röntgen-Atlas des normalen menschlichen Körpers, von Max Immelmann. Berlin, A. Hirschwald, 1900.

[18] p. 28 plates. 46 cm.

First edition containing the first complete Roentgen atlas of the human body.<<

I would never deny the possibility that this Einstein and Albert were one and the same (Hannes is obviously much better-equipped to know about the rarity of the family name). But on the surface I find it pretty hard to credit.

Einstein was already famous when he returned to Germany in 1914. He was even more famous by 1917, for his work on relativity. If he did go to work for Merkur, why wouldn't they have made a bigger deal of it? Call him "the celebrated Prof. Dr. Einstein"?

Further to Amy's point about his pacifism, Einstein had renounced his citizenship when he left Germany. When he came back to Berlin he made a point of remaining stateless. In 1914 he was one of the signatories of a manifesto urging the Powers to end the war. Would a German defence firm have hired him under those circumstances?

I have been unable to locate any truly detailed information on Einstein's activities in 1917-18. I do know, however, that he was extremely ill for much of the first half of 1917 (some sources say he came close to dying). From October he was the head of the newly founded Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Physics.

Here's a question: does "scientific assistant" mean that he was subordinate to another scientist? Because I think it highly unlikely that Einstein would have been hired as anyone's assistant at that stage of his career.

[rammjaeger]

>>Here's a question: does "scientific assistant" mean that he was subordinate to another scientist? Because I think it highly unlikely that Einstein would have been hired as anyone's assistant at that stage of his career.<<

Correct, but the context suggests more this Einstein was supporting the "Technischer Leiter" (whats that? a technological manager? ...). *

German telephon CDs show ca one dozen private persons with the name Einstein - so you can assume there are max. 20 with this name. I am not counting the enterprises (mis)using the name.

Possibly a dangerous sick, pacifist and well-paid (that is RELATIVE) scientist can not be the same individual as in the text mentioned! *What a pitty!

But if I find the opposite then I will demand "Freibier!" for my efforts! *

Anyway - I crawl back to my much-hated training text. *>

VBR
Rammjaeger

Rammjaeger,

In WWI Aero about 12-13 years ago there was an article in Peter Grosz's regular column "Historiography" that revealed what Einstein was doing. He was involved in aerofoil experiments to improve performance. He was unsuccessful in this. Some of the drawings in the article show distinctly "bent" aerofoil cross sections. I'll have to dig it out.

Aviatik

[rammjaeger]

Thank you very much for this help, Aviatik!

I think that turns the tables!

Where is my "Freibier"? ? ?

VBR
Rammjaeger