382) The 100th Anniversary of the General Theory of Relativity by Albert Einstein: Gold and Silver coins issued by the Royal Mint of Belgium in denominations of 50 Euro (Gold) and 10 Euro (Silver):

382) The 100^th Anniversary of the General Theory of Relativity by Albert Einstein: Gold and Silver coins issued by the Royal Mint of Belgium in denominations of 50 Euro (Gold)and 10 Euro (Silver):

The works of German-born Mathematician and Physicist, Albert Einstein (1879-1955) made him the most famous scientist of the 20^th Century.

Although Einstein was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1921 “for his services to Theoretical Physics for his work on the particle-like properties of light”, during a ceremony in 1922, the committee noted his contribution especially for his discovery of the Law of the Photoelectric Effect, rather than his Theory of Relativity, which was not accepted as given until further research was carried out by S.N. Bose, a physicist specialising in Mathematical Physics.

 Nevertheless, he is more famous for his theories of “Special Relativity”.

These theories introduced a revolutionary way of thinking about Space, Time, Mass, Energy and Gravity.

Albert Einstein determined that the Laws of Physics are the same for all non-accelerating observers and that the speed of light in a vacuum was independent of the motion of all observers. Albert Einstein rejected the concept that that there is an absolute or “preferred” frame of reference in the Universe. In other words, everything was relative. He also rejected the idea that time is “absolute”, suggesting that it does not have to pass at the same rate everywhere.

This hypothesis, published in 1905, was known as “Special Relativity” because it applied only to special cases – Frames of Reference in both constant and unchanging motion.

As a result of this Principle, Einstein deduced that there is no fixed Frame of Reference in the Universe and that everything is moving relative to everything else. This was the beginning of what would be published as Einstein’s final Theory of Relativity in March 1916 in the Physics magazine “Annalen der Physik”.

To replace the old concepts, he formed the “Special Theory of Relativity” called “Special” because it is restricted to frames of reference in a constant, unchanging Motion (because, they are not being accelerated by Force).

He based the entire Theory on two Principles –

The First Principle, called the “Principle of Relativity” which states that the same laws of Physics apply equally in all constantly moving frames of reference.

The Second Principle states, the speed of light is constant and independent of motion of the observer or source of light.

Einstein recognised that the Second Principle conflicts with the accepted notions about how velocities add together. Further, that combining it with the First Principle seems to lead to perplexing, non-intuitive results. He perceived, however, that human intuition about time and space could be wrong.

The results that flow from the Principles of Special Relativity are remarkable. By using Thought experiments, Einstein showed that for the speed of light to be the same in all reference frames, measures of Space and Time in one frame must be transformed to those in another.

These transformations show that when an object moves at high speed relative to an observer, the observer sees less of its length – an effect called “Lorentz Contraction”. Also, time for such an object appears to run more slowly – an effect called “Time Dilation”. So measurements of time and space vary between moving reference frames.

Einstein also showed that an object gains mass when its Energy increases and loses it when its Energy decreases. This led him to realise that Mass and Energy have an equivalence, which he expressed in his famous equation “E=mc2” which has become synonymous with Einstein’s theory of the Mass-Energy equivalence concept, that explains the relationship between Mass and Energy. It expresses the Law of Equivalence of Energy and Mass using the formula where “E” (is the Energy of a physical system), “m” (is the Mass of the system) and “c” (is the speed of light squared in a vacuum which is about 3 x 108 m/s).

A further implication of Special Relativity is that Space and Time are closely linked. When two events occur in separate places, the Space between them is ambiguous, because observers travelling at different velocities measure different distances.

The time passing between the events also depends on each observer’s motion. However, a mathematical method can be devised for measuring the separation of events, involving a combination of Space and Time that gives values that all observers can agree on.

This led to the concept that events in the Universe should no longer be described in three spatial dimensions, but rather in a four Dimensional World, incorporating Time, called “Space–Time”. In this system, the separation between any two events is described by a value called a “Space – Time” interval.

When Einstein proclaimed his discovery, which has been described as “the origins of the universe”, it essentially resulted in the re-thinking of what was regarded as the basis of science and mathematics.

Some explanations/applications:

Time Dilation: Special Relativity predicts that an Earth-bound observer sees time slow down on board a spacecraft travelling at close to the speed of Light relative to Earth. At 90 % of light-speed, the passage of time is halved – a clock on the spaceship advances only 10 minutes, while more than 20 minutes pass on Earth.

Symmetrical Effects: Relativistic Effects occur symmetrically, because there is no absolute Frame of Reference. For the spacecraft pilot, time on Earth passes more slowly, but more than 20 minutes pass on the spacecraft, while the pilot watches a clock advance only 10 minutes on Earth.

Moving Frames of Reference: If there are two travellers positioned on two moving Reference Frames, passing each other and each tosses a ball up, then – by the Principle of Relativity, the Laws of Physics apply in each Reference Frame, so each traveller observes the behaviour of the two balls as predicted by those laws. Although the two traveller’s see different motions for each ball, neither traveller’s point of view is superior to the other’s – both are equally valid and there is no preferred Frame of Reference.

While for both traveller’s their own ball tossed up in their individual Reference Frames appears to move vertically, but if they can observe the other traveller’s ball, it would seem to follow an arc-shaped path.

To Einstein’s ultimate dismay, one of the first applications of his equation “E = mc2” was the development of the Atomic Bombs. In such bombs, the loss of tiny amounts of Mass in nuclear reactions releases vast amounts of Energy. 

In February 1933, while on a visit to Pasadena, California, from Germany, Einstein prepared to immigrate to the USA.

In 1935, he applied for American citizenship which was granted in 1940.

He took up a position at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey, and remained at the Institute for the remainder of his life.

He passed away on 17.04.1955 at the age of 76. During his long and distinguished career, he had published more than 300 scientific papers and around 150 non-scientific works.

The 100^th Anniversary of the General Theory of Relativity by Albert Einstein: Gold and Silver coins issued by the Royal Mint of Belgium in denominations of 50 Euro (Gold) and 10 Euro (Silver):

The Royal Mint of Belgium has issued two Commemorative coins in honour of the Centennial Anniversary of the break-through “Theory of Relativity” of Albert Einstein.

                  The Obverse of the 50 Euro gold coin

On the Obverse of the 50 Euro Gold coin, at the left is a right facing semi-profile portrait of Einstein, inspired from an actual photograph taken around 1947. Filling the field to the right is a blackboard marked with segments of the formula that resulted in the equation “E = mc2”, which is enlarged to the right of Einstein’s portrait. On the upper to lower right periphery, is mentioned the name “ALBERT EINSTEIN”.

                 The Reverse of the 50 Euro gold coin

On the Reverse of the 50 Euro Gold coin is included a map of the current states/nations within the European Union, along with 12 stars of various sizes placed randomly around the map. The denomination of the coin “50 EURO” is placed to the left of the map and the three versions of the country’s name “BELGIQUE, BELGIE and BELGIEN” are placed below the map as a typographic composite:  BELGI with the three suffixes – “QUE”, “E” and “EN” stacked at the end.

The mint mark of the new mint master Ingrid Van Herzele appears on this face just below the year of issue “2016”.

The technical specifications of the 50 Euro Gold Coin are:

Diameter: 21.0 mm; Weight: 6.22 gms; Metallic Composition/Alloy: Au.999; Mintage: 1,000 pieces; Year of issue: 2016.

Each coin is enclosed in a perspex or Lucite capsule within a polished-wood, custom-branded presentation case. 

                      The Flag of the CoE and EU

The 12 stars on Euro coins, represent the Flag of Europe which consists of 12 golden (yellow) stars on an azure background. It is the official symbol of two separate organisations – the Council of Europe (CoE) and the European Union (EU) and was first designed in 1955 for the Council of Europe.

                             The Obverse of the 10 Euro silver coin

On the Obverse of the 10 Euro Gold coin, at the left is a right facing semi-profile portrait of Einstein, inspired from an actual photograph taken around 1947. Filling the field to the right is a blackboard marked with segments of the formula that resulted in the equation “E = mc2”, which is enlarged to the right of Einstein’s portrait. On the upper to lower right periphery, is mentioned the name “ALBERT EINSTEIN”.

                 The Reverse of the 10 Euro silver coin

On the Reverse of the 10 Euro Gold coin is included a map of the current states/nations within the European Union, along with 12 stars of various sizes placed randomly around the map. The denomination of the coin “10 EURO” is placed to the left of the map and the three versions of the country’s name “BELGIQUE, BELGIE and BELGIEN” are placed below the map as a typographic composite:  BELGI with the three suffixes – “QUE”, “E” and “EN” stacked at the end. The mint mark of the new mint master Ingrid Van Herzele appears on this face just below the year of issue “2016”.

Each coin is enclosed in a perspex or Lucite capsule within a polished-wood, custom-branded presentation case.

The technical specifications of the 10 Euro Silver Coin are:

Diameter: 33.0 mm; Weight: 18.75 gms; Metallic Composition/Alloy: Ag.925; Mintage: 7,500 pieces; Year of issue: 2016.