Letter handwritten by Einstein sells for $1.2 million
The letter included the fourth known example of Einstein writing the "E=mc²" equation by hand. It was originally expected to sell for around $400,000.
A letter written by Albert Einstein, in which he writes out his E=mc² equation, has been auctioned for more than $1.2 million (€985,000), or about three times more than its expected value, Boston-based RR Auction said on Friday.
Archivists at the Einstein Papers Project at the California Institute of Technology and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem say there are only three other known examples of Einstein writing the famous equation by hand.
The letter, the fourth known example, is the only one to be part of a private collection. It was originally expected to be auctioned for $400,000, but was sold for the final price of $1,243,707.
The letter was "important from both a holographic and a physics point of view, as it shows Einstein's thinking on one of the most basic of all physical problems," a statement issued by RR Auction said, adding that "the quest for a 'unified field theory' consumed the final third of Einstein's life."
