Albert Einstein (1879-1955) - photo 1
Albert Einstein (1879-1955) - photo 2
Albert Einstein (1879-1955) - photo 3

Albert Einstein (1879-1955)

Lot 336
15.12.2023 11:00UTC +00:00
Classic
Starting price
£ 100
AuctioneerCHRISTIE'S
Event locationUnited Kingdom, London
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ID 1109138
Lot 336 | Albert Einstein (1879-1955)
Estimate value
£ 5 000 – 8 000
Albert Einstein (1879-1955)
Autograph letter signed ('A. Einstein') to Cornelius Lanczos, n.p., n.d. [1940]
In German. One page, 280 x 216mm. Provenance: Sotheby's London, 26 November 1980, lot 171.

A new paper on 'the problem of motion in the general theory of relativity', and another failed attempt on a unified field theory. Einstein is impressed with a theoretical proof Lanczos has sent, though he suggests it might be better to publish it in a journal of mathematics, 'as the actual physics ones have sunk under the pressure of facts to a sort of engineering point of view'. He will encourage the editor of Annals of Mathematics to publish it, as they are about to publish a paper by Einstein and Leopold Infeld 'in which the problem of motion in the general theory of relativity is solely founded on the equations Rik = 0'. On the other hand, 'all my attempts on a unified theory of gravitation and electricity have miscarried. It appears that we really must move on to fourth order equations, which is quite painful'. The letter concludes with sympathy at the continued uncertainty over Lanczos's academic position.

The paper referred to is presumably A. Einstein and L. Infeld, 'The gravitational equations and the problem of motion, II', Annals of Mathematics 41 (1940), 455–464.
Artist:Albert Einstein (1879 - 1955)
Place of origin:Germany, Switzerland, USA
Auction house category:Medicine & science
Address of auction CHRISTIE'S
8 King Street, St. James's
SW1Y 6QT London
United Kingdom
Preview
09.12.2023 12:00 – 17:00
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