Einstein heads for cyberspace

If you ever wanted to get in Einstein's head, soon you can. Aptly timed on Albert Einstein's birthday, the Hebrew University in Jerusalem announced Monday it will digitize the scientist's archives for online access by next year. Einstein bequeathed his research notebooks, papers, and personal correspondence to the university which he cofounded.

Born Mar. 14, 1879, in Germany to a Jewish family in Ulm, Albert also lived in Italy and Switzerland during his youth. By 1901 Einstein had Swiss citizenship, a degree to teach physics and math, and a job as a technical assistant in a patent office. His first job must have allowed spare time; this is when he developed his major theories. He received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1922.

Einstein had quite a list of citizenships. After his German birth and Swiss citizenship, he finally obtained professorships in Zurich, then Prague, and finally Germany where he became a German citizen. By 1933 he'd again renounced that (political risks as a German Jew) and emigrated to the U.S. where he officially became an American in 1940.

Other little known facts about Einstein, according to biographer-physicists Karen Fox and Aries Keck:

* Grades. No; he didn't flunk math. The popular but false rumor likely derived from three facts. Einstein's grades in math and physics weren't bad, but they weren't stellar either, given his later-discovered genius. He did drop out of school, but only because the family moved. He did cut class with some regularity, although he managed to maintain average to fair grades.

* What's with the tongue? A famous photo of Einstein shows him looking mischievous with his tongue sticking out. In short: paparazzi. He was frustrated by photographers interfering with his enjoyment of his birthday party, so he reacted.

* Clothes. Another rumor describes Einstein wearing the same thing every day, or having a closet full of the identical casual outfits. While in his last few years of life he did stick to comfy pants, sandals without socks, and sweatshirts, during his two marriages (especially the second) his wives made sure he was well dressed.

* Marilyn. Poor Marilyn Monroe was accused of having many unsubstantiated affairs. The alleged tryst with Einstein was impossible as they never met. However, apparently he did have other extramarital relationships.

In 2002 Einstein's famous theory of special relativity was challenged, although not in its entirety. However in September 2010 government scientists vindicated him, using two atomic clocks to prove he was right about time's relativity (slower in space).

"The only reason for time is so that everything doesn't happen at once." - Albert Einstein

Sholeh Patrick is a wannabe-astrophysicist and columnist for the Hagadone News Network. Sholehjo@hotmail.com