| Title |
A review of the contributions of Albert Einstein to Earth Sciences—in commemoration of the World Year of Physics
|
|---|---|
| Published in |
The Science of Nature, February 2006
|
| DOI | 10.1007/s00114-005-0076-8 |
| Pubmed ID | |
| Authors |
Jesús Martínez-Frías, David Hochberg, Fernando Rull |
| Abstract |
The World Year of Physics (2005) is an international celebration to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Einstein's "Annus Mirabilis." The United Nations has officially declared 2005 as the International Year of Physics. However, the impact of Einstein's ideas was not restricted to physics. Among numerous other disciplines, Einstein also made significant and specific contributions to Earth Sciences. His geosciences-related letters, comments, and scientific articles are dispersed, not easily accessible, and are poorly known. The present review attempts to integrate them as a tribute to Einstein in commemoration of this centenary. These contributions can be classified into three basic areas: geodynamics, geological (planetary) catastrophism, and fluvial geomorphology. Regarding geodynamics, Einstein essentially supported Hapgood's very controversial theory called Earth Crust Displacement. With respect to geological (planetary) catastrophism, it is shown how the ideas of Einstein about Velikovsky's proposals evolved from 1946 to 1955. Finally, in relation to fluvial geodynamics, the review incorporates the elegant work in which Einstein explains the formation of meandering rivers. A general analysis of his contributions is also carried out from today's perspective. Given the interdisciplinarity and implications of Einstein's achievements to multiple fields of knowledge, we propose that the year 2005 serve, rather than to confine his universal figure within a specific scientific area, to broaden it for a better appreciation of this brilliant scientist in all of his dimensions. |
X Demographics
The data shown below were collected from the profiles of 14 X users who shared this research output. Click here to find out more about how the information was compiled.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Spain | 2 | 14% |
| Colombia | 1 | 7% |
| Mexico | 1 | 7% |
| Unknown | 10 | 71% |
Demographic breakdown
| Type | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Members of the public | 11 | 79% |
| Scientists | 3 | 21% |
Mendeley readers
The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 23 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| United States | 1 | 4% |
| Germany | 1 | 4% |
| Canada | 1 | 4% |
| Unknown | 20 | 87% |
Demographic breakdown
| Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Researcher | 5 | 22% |
| Professor | 4 | 17% |
| Student > Ph. D. Student | 4 | 17% |
| Student > Master | 3 | 13% |
| Professor > Associate Professor | 2 | 9% |
| Other | 2 | 9% |
| Unknown | 3 | 13% |
| Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Earth and Planetary Sciences | 8 | 35% |
| Environmental Science | 2 | 9% |
| Agricultural and Biological Sciences | 2 | 9% |
| Chemistry | 2 | 9% |
| Physics and Astronomy | 2 | 9% |
| Other | 3 | 13% |
| Unknown | 4 | 17% |
Attention Score in Context
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 13. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 25 September 2023.
All research outputs
#2,805,020
of 25,550,333 outputs
Outputs from The Science of Nature
#351
of 2,274 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#8,912
of 170,761 outputs
Outputs of similar age from The Science of Nature
#4
of 18 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 25,550,333 research outputs across all sources so far. Compared to these this one has done well and is in the 89th percentile: it's in the top 25% of all research outputs ever tracked by Altmetric.
So far Altmetric has tracked 2,274 research outputs from this source. They typically receive a lot more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 14.1. This one has done well, scoring higher than 84% of its peers.
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We're also able to compare this research output to 18 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one has done well, scoring higher than 83% of its contemporaries.