The exhibition that marks the jubilee anniversary of the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, opened to the science loving public on March 7th at the Academy in Jerusalem. The exhibition will take place until March 23rd.
The exhibition that marks the jubilee anniversary of the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, opened to the science loving public on March 7th at the Academy in Jerusalem. The exhibition will take place until March 23rd.
From March 7th a rare and special exhibition of 46 pages of the original manuscript of the magnum opus of Albert Einstein: the Foundation of the General Theory of Relativity, that he wrote in the year 1916 in his home in Berlin, takes place for the first time in Israel and the world. The exposition is held to mark the jubilee anniversary of The Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities.
The original manuscript, that was written in German, was donated by Albert Einstein to the Hebrew University of Jerusalem on the occasion of its opening in 1925.
The pages of the original manuscript of the general theory of relativity, that are shown at the exhibition, represent the most important revolution in the understanding of the universe in modern times - a revolution in the way we perceive space, time and gravity. The general theory of relativity brought about new insights on the structure of the universe, its development and predicted the existence of the black holes. Its importance is not only of theoretical nature, but has also practical implications: the theory initiated technological developments of great importance, such as the determination of exact locations on earth by means of a GPS instrument and the monitoring of spaceships in space.
The exhibition, that is held by courtesy of by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, was inaugurated by the President of the Academy, Prof. Menachem Ya’ari and the President of the Hebrew University, Prof. Menachem Ben Sasson.
The exhibition’s curator, Prof. Hanoch Gutfreund, announced that conservation aspects such as temperature, humidity, lightning, as well the amount of visitors, were taken into account during the erection of the exhibition.
The original manuscripts are displayed together in one hall, while in another hall one can look at enlarged and illuminated copies, with explanations in Hebrew and English and other background exhibits.
The exhibition’s designer is Ido Bruno.
Prof. Gutfreund: “The illuminated copies of the manuscript are an addition to the original and help us to appreciate the manuscript and its contents. Examining them, one can almost look over Einstein’s shoulder while he was at work - his elegant handwriting, the corrections and equations, the erasures and additions. The comments that are added to numerous pages shed light on the basic ideas of Einstein, the challenges he faced and the difficulties he encountered, as well as on the significance and the conclusions of what may be considered the ultimate intellectual accomplishment produced by the brains of one human being”.
The exhibition will be on display at the Academy of Sciences and Humanities at 43 Jabotinsky Street, in Jerusalem between 7-25 March 2010 and is the opening event of the National Science Week, that is held around Albert Einstein’s birthday on March 24TH and marks the jubilee anniversary of the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities.
The academy was founded by law in 1961 and counts today ninety-eight high-ranking Israeli scientists, amongst whom forty Israeli Nobel Price winners. The goals of the Academy are, amongst others, to promote and cultivate scientific activities, to advice the government in matters related to research and scientific programming and to represent Israeli science in the world.
Visits to the exhibition include a guided tour of about one hour and should be arranged in advance. The number of places is limited.
To arrange a visit/tour contact Ms. Rivka Gabriel, tel: 02-5676222
For information, interviews contact Itzhak Rabihiya, “Rav-Tikshoret”: 054-7999209 or the spokesperson of the Academy, Avital Bar: 054-6400993