7. Different Means

During his visit to an observatory Einstein got interested in the gi­gantic telescope with a mirror of 2.5 metres in diameter.

"What do you need such a big instrument for?" asked Einstein's wife.

"We use it to study the structure of the universe," answered the di­rector of the observatory.

"Really?" said the lady. "My husband usually does it on the inside of an old envelope."

8. By what illustration did Einstein explain his Theory of Relativity?

Einstein's Theory of Relativity, which seemed a flight of imagination (полет воображения) to many at first, is now the cornerstone of modem physics. Many physical phenomena could never be explained without the Theory of Relativity. Einstein said that there were only twelve people living who understood his Theory of Relativity, although there were more than nine hundred books written to explain it.

He himself explained relativity by this very simple illustration: "When you sit with a nice girl for an hour, you think it is only a minute; but when you sit on a hot stove for a minute, you think it is an hour. Well, well - so that's relativity. It sounds all right to me, but if you don't believe me and would like to try it out (хотели бы проверить), I'll be glad to sit with the girl if you'll sit on the stove."