By Hamish Johnston
If you happen to be in Jerusalem over the next two weeks you might want to contact Rivka Gabriel at the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities to arrange a guided tour that includes a viewing of the original manuscript of Albert Einstein’s general theory of relativity.
Written in 1916, the 46 page document was donated by Einstein to the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 1925 — but had never been exhibited to the public. The work is on show along with explanatory notes until 25 March to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities.
The exhibition poster describes Einstein’s theory as “a revolution in how we think about space, time and gravity”.
The poster goes on to say the theory “led to a new understanding of the structure and development of the universe and predicted the existence of black holes. But its significance is not only theoretical: It instigated technological developments of tremendous importance, including our capabilities to determine a position anywhere on the planet by means of a GPS device and to track the movements of distant spaceships.”
The tours last about an hour and you can telephone Rivka Gabriel on 02-5676222.
