Theoretical physicist — Leopold Infeld (Kraków 1898 – Warsaw 1968) was a Polish theoretical physicist, best known for his collaboration with Albert Einstein. Of Jewish origin and raised in modest circumstances, he trained in Poland and later worked at Cambridge and Princeton. With Einstein and Banesh Hoffmann he derived, in 1938, the equations of motion of bodies starting from the field equations of general relativity (the EIH equations). With Max Born he had earlier developed the non-linear electromagnetic theory known as Born-Infeld theory. Returning to Poland after the war, he contributed to the rebirth of theoretical physics in his country; he is also famous as co-author, with Einstein, of a highly successful popular-science book.
Trivia
Together with Einstein he wrote ‘The Evolution of Physics’ (1938), a hugely successful popular-science book also intended to help Infeld financially, as he was then in economic difficulty.
Theories and contributions
- Einstein-Infeld-Hoffmann equations — Describe the motion of massive bodies, derived directly from the field equations of general relativity.
- Born-Infeld theory — Non-linear electrodynamics that removes the divergence of the point charge’s energy.
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