Marking its jubilee year, the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities will be mounting a display of the original manuscript of Albert Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity.
Einstein donated the 46-page German-language manuscript to the Hebrew University of Jerusalem upon its establishment in 1925. This will be the first time that the complete, original manuscript outlining the foundation of general relativity will be on display. Einstein wrote it in his Berlin home in 1916.
The display will be open to the public at the Academy, located on Jabotinsky Street in Jerusalem, from March 7-25. Complete with explanatory notes, as well as the author’s corrections and additions, the manuscript represents what the Israel Academy calls "the modern era’s most important revolution in the conception of the universe – a revolution in how we think about space, time and gravity."
Guided tours are available upon prior arrangement.
The Theory of General Relativity led to a new understanding of the structure and development of the universe, and predicted the existence of black holes. Its significance is not only theoretical, however; it also led to critically important technological developments, including man’s capability to determine a position anywhere on the planet by means of GPS (Global Positioning System) and to track the movements of distant spaceships.
The original pages will be on display in a hall where the temperature can be controlled and the number of visitors will be restricted. Enlargements, translations and other related items will be seen in another hall. The designer of the exhibit is Ido Bruno.