Technology
Lost Einstein letter that correctly predicted ‘discovery of animals with SUPERPOWERS’ revealed after 70 years
A LONG-LOST letter written by Albert Einstein has revealed the famous genius predicted discovering animals with superpower-like senses.
The letter was written decades before scientists found out creatures like birds, dogs and bees can ‘see’ Earth’s magnetic field.
The letter was discovered in 2011 after the death of the recipient but was only recently donated to The Hebrew University of Jerusalem[/caption]
The scientist wrote the letter in 1949 as a response to a query from engineer Glyn Davys about animal perception.
He wrote: “It is thinkable that the investigation of the behaviour of migratory birds and carrier pigeons may someday lead to the understanding of some physical process which is not yet known.”
It’s 72 years later and we now have evidence that some birds can rely on ‘super-senses’ in their eyes to detect Earth magnetic field.
They can then use the magnetic field as a guide, which is useful for migration.
Einstein was a physicist who was also interested in the biological sciences[/caption]
Dogs are also thought to be able to sense our planet’s magnetic field with receptors in their eyes.
Bees, on the other hand, are said to have magnetic field receptors in their abdomens.
Einstein’s predictive letter was recently donated to The Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Researchers there wrote: “It is amazing that [Einstein] conceived this possibility, decades before empirical evidence revealed that several animals can indeed perceive magnetic fields and use such information for navigation.”
At the time of writing, bat echolocation had been discovered and Einstein might have been taking this into consideration to make his prediction.
Einstein was a physicist but was also interested in how the biological sciences and physics connect.
He was fascinated by bee behaviour, so likely enjoyed responding to Davys about a similar interest.
Bee navigation is also mentioned in the typed out note.
How bees perceive the world has actually helped modern day scientists improve technology like the cameras on our phones.
Scientists may have built on Einstein’s theories over the past 70 years but there’s still a long way to go to truly understand animal senses that we don’t have.
A study about the letter has been published in the Journal of Comparative Physiology A.
Eight interesting Einstein facts
Here’s what you need to know about the famous genius…
- Albert Einstein was born in Germany in 1879 to parents who were concerned because his head was large and misshapen but within a few weeks it had returned to a standard size
- He did not speak until the age of four and he only spoke if he wanted to complain about something until the age of nine
- Einstein had a secret daughter out of wedlock with his first wife because they were too poor to marry but what happened to this child is still unknown
- The physicist won the 1921 Noble Prize for for his services to theoretical physics
- He signed away all his Noble Prize money in a divorce settlement
- Einstein was asked to be the President of Israel but, at the age of 73, declined because he thought he was too old
- Einstein died in 1955 at the age of 76
- After his death, pathologist Thomas Harvey went against Einstein’s wishes for a full cremation and kept his brain which he then chopped into pieces for research purposes
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