FactSentinel

Albert Einstein received the 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics, but not for his theory of relativity. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences awarded it "for his services to Theoretical Physics, and especially for his discovery of the law of the photoelectric effect." The prize was announced in 1922, when Einstein was recognized as the 1921 laureate, since no award had been given the previous year. The photoelectric effect describes how light striking certain metals knocks electrons loose, and Einstein's 1905 explanation, which treated light as arriving in discrete packets of energy called quanta, became a foundation of quantum theory.

The reasons relativity was left out are well documented. In the early 1920s, parts of the Nobel Committee considered relativity too speculative and not yet sufficiently verified by experiment, despite the widely publicized 1919 eclipse observations supporting general relativity. Some committee members also questioned whether the theory fit the prize's requirement of a concrete "discovery" or "invention." The photoelectric effect, by contrast, had solid experimental backing, including work by Robert Millikan. The official presentation even included a note that the award was made without taking into account the value that would be accorded to relativity and gravitation theories after future confirmation.

The misconception is understandable. Relativity is what made Einstein a household name, and it is the achievement most people associate with him. Many popular accounts blur the distinction between his fame and his formal recognition. In reality, relativity never earned him a Nobel Prize, even though it is now regarded as one of the most thoroughly tested theories in modern science.