THE YEAR OF EINSTEIN
By Michael D. Lampen, Archivist, Grace Cathedral
The year 2005 marks the centenary of the publication of Albert Einstein's Special Theory of Relativity, and the fiftieth anniversary of his death. Einstein's pioneering work in modern physics broke open a whole new perspective on the universe and, to paraphrase Einstein, revealed "the subtlety of God". This theory, and its later expansion, continues to challenge science, and its three principles are still mind-twisters: The speed of light is fixed, whatever the frame of reference. Physical laws remain the same observed at any fixed velocity. Yet time and space are relative, and their measurement depends on the frame of reference. Light is both wave and particle, thus the famous formula E=MC˛; the mass or inertia of a body, when accelerated to the square of the speed of light, is equivalent to its energy.
When Grace Cathedral was being completed in the mid 1960s, Einstein was chosen to represent Natural Science in a twelve-window nave clerestory series called Human Endeavor. The series recognizes twelve outstanding twentieth century Americans whose works are expressions of God's grace working through and for humanity. The sixteen-foot tall Natural Science window, showing the prominent shock-haired figure and his famed formula, has become one of the cathedral "sights", sought out by both tourists and local visitors. Designed in 1963 by Gabriel Loire of Chartres, France, the window is made of inch-thick faceted glass, chipped on the inner edges to create a jewel-like effect, and set in cement, like a translucent mosaic. Nearly a thousand pieces of glass make up the eight-paneled window. Located in the sixth bay of the north nave clerestory, over sixty feet above the floor, the window was installed in 1964. The window was given by Major Clarence Gould in memory of his wife Lottie, and by a portion of the legacy of Russell S. Springer.
The window shows a caped Einstein gazing upward, surrounded by electron orbitals and nuclear particle paths. At the top, the tail burn of a rocket blasts past the cratered lunar surface, expressing Einstein's impact on astronomy and cosmology, and the new space frontier of the 1960s (the Exploration/John Glenn window is opposite). At upper center, in red, is a portion of the Lorentz transformation, the square root of v/c, reconciling the fixed speed of light with differing inertial frames. At bottom left is an idealized helium atom, reminding us of Einstein's groundbreaking insights on nuclear physics, and his serious concerns about the misuse of atomic power.
A non-observant Jew, yet a deeply ethical and humane man, Einstein might be surprised to find his image in a great cathedral. Yet not only is there this cathedral link, but also a link with the donor of the land on which the Cathedral was built; William H. Crocker. Beginning in 1901, philanthropist Crocker funded ten solar eclipse expeditions by the Lick Observatory. The seventh, the 1922 Lick-Crocker Eclipse Expedition to Wallal, Australia, confirmed the bending of light by gravity, predicted in Einstein's 1915 General Theory of Relativity. A more recent confirmation of that theory was made using the Lunar Laser Ranging experiment placed on the Moon by astronauts in 1970. By bouncing laser beams off lunar mirrors, scientists have confirmed Einstein's equivalency principle, in which the orbiting Earth and Moon "fall toward" the Sun at the same rate.
Fifty years after his death, Einstein remains a stereotype of genius, a sincere, concerned humanitarian, and a theoretical physicist who made giant strides in the human attempt to understand the physical universe. "My religion" he once explained, "consists of a humble adoration of the illimitable superior spirit who reveals himself in the slightest details we are able to perceive with our frail and feeble mind."
Photos by Benjamin Privitt.
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