アインシュタインの希少メモ、過去最高１５億円で落札

【パリＡＦＰ＝時事】ドイツ生まれの米理論物理学者アルバート・アインシュタインが一般相対性理論の構想時に残した直筆のメモが２３日、仏パリで競売に掛けられ、１１６０万ユーロ（約１５億円）で落札された。（写真は仏パリのクリスティーズ競売所で、競売の前日に展示されたアルバート・アインシュタインの直筆メモ）
　アインシュタインの直筆文書では過去最高額。予想落札価格は２００万～３００万ユーロ（約２億５０００万～３億８０００万円）と、最終価格の４分の１程度だった。
　落札されたのは、１９１５年に発表された一般相対性理論の準備作業が記された５４ページの文書。１３～１４年にスイス・チューリヒで、アインシュタインの同僚で親友だったスイス人エンジニア、ミケーレ・ベッソと共同で記したもの。
　クリスティーズによると、アインシュタインがこの時期に残した科学関連の文書は極めて珍しく、１９１９年頃になるまでその傾向がみられるという。
　競売会社アギュットの代理で競売を行ったクリスティーズは、「これまで競売に掛けられた中で最も価値あるアインシュタインの原稿であることに疑いはない」としている。
　クリスティーズによると、この文書はベッソが保存していたおかげで後世に残った。アインシュタインが単なる作業用の書類としか考えていなかったものを保管した可能性は低く、文書が保存されていたことは「奇跡に近い」という。
　アインシュタインの直筆文書は、２０１８年には神についての持論を記した手紙が２８０万ドル（約３億２０００万円）、２０１７年には幸福な生活を送る秘訣（ひけつ）に関する手紙が１５６万ドル（約１億８０００万円）で落札されている。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】

〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2021/11/24-13:12）

Albert Einstein's handwritten notes for the theory of relativity fetched a record 11.6 million euros ($13 million) at an auction in Paris on Tuesday.
The manuscript had been valued at around a quarter of the final sum, which is by far the highest ever paid for anything written by the genius scientist.
It contains preparatory work for the physicist's signature achievement, the theory of general relativity, which he published in 1915.
Calling the notes without a doubt the most valuable Einstein manuscript ever to come to auction, Christie's -- which handled the sale on behalf of the Aguttes auction house -- had estimated prior to the auction that it would fetch two to three million euros.
Previous records for Einstein's works were $2.8 million for the so-called God letter in 2018, and $1.56 million in 2017 for a letter about the secret to happiness.
Bids on Tuesday opened at 1.5 million euros and quickly went past the auctioneers' estimate.
After a few minutes two bidders were left, battling it out over the telephone in increments of 200,000 euros.
There was no immediate information concerning the identity, or nationality, of the winner.
Around 100 collectors and onlookers turned up for the sale, but all bids were made remotely.
- 'Almost like a miracle' -
The 54-page document sold Tuesday was handwritten in 1913 and 1914 in Zurich, Switzerland, by Einstein and his colleague and confidant, Swiss engineer Michele Besso.
Christie's said it was thanks to Besso that the manuscript was preserved for posterity.
This was almost like a miracle since the German-born genius himself would have been unlikely to hold on to what he considered to be a simple working document, Christie's said.
Today, the paper offers a fascinating plunge into the mind of the 20th century's greatest scientist, it said.
It discusses his theory of general relativity, building on his theory of special relativity from 1905 that was encapsulated in the famous equation E=mc2.
Einstein died in 1955 aged 76, lauded as one of the greatest theoretical physicists of all time.
His theories of relativity revolutionised his field by introducing new ways of looking at the movement of objects in space and time.
In 1913, Besso and Einstein attacked one of the problems that had been troubling the scientific community for decades: the anomaly of the planet Mercury's orbit, Christie's said.
This initial manuscript contains a certain number of unnoticed errors, it added.
Once Einstein spotted them, he let the paper drop, and it was taken away by Besso.
Scientific documents by Einstein in this period, and before 1919 generally, are extremely rare, Christie's added.
Being one of only two working manuscripts documenting the genesis of the theory of general relativity that we know about, it is an extraordinary witness to Einstein's work.
Einstein also made major contributions to quantum mechanics theory and won the Nobel physics prize in 1921.
He also became a pop culture icon thanks to his dry witticisms, and trademark unruly hair, moustache and bushy eyebrows.