Albert's Einstein's handwritten letter with iconic 'E=mc²' equation now up for sale

A handwritten letter by Albert Einstein which is considered rare for containing his famous E=mc² mass-energy equivalence formula has gone on sale for the sum of Rs 2,91,94,106. According to the reports by RR Auction, the letter is accompanied by a minted NFT and a 5D Biometric Art Passport powered by ARTMYN, which ensures that the original manuscript is unforgeable. It also allows the owner to monitor the evolution of its condition over time, and serves as a ‘digital portfolio’ preserving all associated documentation. One can only gain access to these digital assets that will be provided to the buyer via QR codes.

Ancient letter on sale 

The letter is dated October 26, 1946. It is one of only four known examples of the formula having been written by Einstein. It is part of correspondence to a fellow researcher which tells him a question could 'be answered' using the formula. “Your question can be answered from the E = mc2 formula, without any erudition. If E is the energy of your system consisting of the two masses, E0 the energy of the masses when they approach infinite distance, then the system’s mass defect is E0 - E / c2”.

The letter talks about the mass-energy relationship and explains the source of the energy produced in the process of radioactive decay. Experimental verification of the relationship would have to wait until 1932 when British physicists John Cockroft and Ernest Walton first 'split the atom' artificially. Also, with the 1938 discovery of nuclear fission by German chemists Otto Hahn and Fritz Strassmann, and physicists Lise Meitner and Otto Frisch. Einstein in his letter wrote, “It is possible that radioactive processes may become known in which a considerably larger percentage of the mass of the initial atom is converted into radiation of various kinds than is the case for radium”.

(Image Credits: RRAuction)

(Image Credits: RRAuction)

As per RR Auction, this is an important letter from both a holographic and a physics point of view. This is because it shows Einstein’s thinking on one of the most basic of all physical problems. The bidding for The Einstein Archives of Ludwik Silberstein Auction opens May 13  and ends May 20, 2021.

(Image Credits: AP/Unsplash)