Berlin, tribute to Einstein

The Archenhold Observatory in Berlin celebrates the 110th anniversary of the presentation by Albert Einstein of the general theory of relativity, one of the most important moments in the history of modern science, the EFE agency on Wednesday.

The unveiling of an Einstein’s wax statue, organized on Wednesday at the Archenhold Observatory, is one of the events by which Berlin and the scientific community celebrate the 110th anniversary of presenting the general theory of relativity.

In 1919, the observations made during a solar eclipse offered the proof of Einstein’s revolutionary ideas, contributing to the world fame that he would eventually acquire to winning the Nobel Prize for Physics, in 1921, for the elucidation of the mechanism of the photoelectric effect.

« Today we celebrate the 110th anniversary of the presentation of the theory of general relativity, in the place where he presented it, » said Efe Tim Florian Horn, the president of the Planetary Foundation in Berlin, the institution responsible for the Archenhold Observatory, who was transformed into a scientific museum.

« What was unique at that presentation was the fact that he offered it to ordinary people; not to a king or other researchers, but to ordinary people. He explained why gravity is a space-time distortion and how time behaves differently near the mass, and even why there is to be a black holes, » he added.

The wax statue at the Madame Tussauds Berlin Museum is a faithful representation of the German scientist, has a height of 1.65 meters and a weight of about 20 kilograms. Einstein is represented with a beige sweater, dark brown velvet pants and leather shoes.

The simplicity of Einstein’s clothing contrasts with the scientific sophistication he has shown through his calculations and theories, postulated that he could communicate at the time because « he was a genius of science, but also of communication, » according to Horn.

We must not lose sight of the fact that, until the appearance of general relativity, hundreds of years believed that time and space are « eternal and immutable, » Horn said, « Einstein showed us that everything is relative. »

« Time and space go hand in hand, and the concentration of the mass causes time to vary and the light is curved. The very idea that the space extends is a consequence of the theory of general relativity, » Horn said.

On Saturday, the Archenhold Observatory, built at the end of the 19th century, will host a public event to celebrate the 110th anniversary of the presentation that changed how humanity perceives the universe.

« Everything is relative » is the motto of the event in which a series artistic works inspired by the scientific progress facilitated by Einstein’s theories will be exhibited at the Archenhold Observatory.