https://doi.org/10.1140/epjh/s13129-022-00046-9
Regular Article
Einstein’s Oxford cosmology blackboards: open portals to 1931
1
Physics, University of Winnipeg, R3B 2E9, Winnipeg, MB, Canada
2
History, University of Winnipeg, c/o 272 Oxford St., R3M 3J7, Winnipeg, MB, Canada
a
d.vincent@uwinnipeg.ca
b
topperincanada@gmail.com
Received:
20
June
2022
Accepted:
19
October
2022
Published online:
16
November
2022
We give a detailed description of the May 16, 1931, lecture by Albert Einstein on cosmology at Oxford University. In this lecture, Einstein discussed his cosmological model of 1931, a model in which the universe was assumed to expand from zero size to a maximum size and then collapse back again. We use information from the two blackboards that Einstein filled for the lecture and intertwine it with a detailed newspaper transcript of what Einstein said concurrently in German. We thereby present a line-by-line explanation of what was conveyed on the blackboards visually and, in an approximate way, what was concurrently conveyed verbally by Einstein. Even though very few in the audience that day would qualify, we assume the point of view of a sufficiently prepared member of the audience. Our discussion is informed by a summary pamphlet that was handed out by the organizers of the talks. We also describe some mistakes that Einstein made in his talk, issues surrounding the successful preservation of one of the two blackboards, as well as some aspects of Einstein’s cosmological thinking after the talk.
© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to EDP Sciences, Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2022. Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
