BERN: Albert Einstein is looming large over the Swiss capital, as the city where he hatched his groundbreaking theories marks their centenary with a major exhibition. Dubbed “bErn=mc2” — a nod to the renowned equation the 27-year-old Einstein dreamed up while working as a clerk in Switzerland’s patent office — the exhibition is billed as the largest ever dedicated to him.

Einstein lived in Switzerland between 1896 and 1914 and published three papers that revolutionised physics in 1905.

He has taken over the Bern historical museum until April 2006, with a string of special events alongside the exhibition: notably the August 6-14 open-air “Energy Show”, an interplay of sound, light and fire in the museum grounds.

After passing gigantic photos of the wild-haired, elderly Einstein, visitors are thrown off-balance at the entrance: the museum’s stone stairway gives way to mirrors, creating an unnerving sense of infinity.

“It’s a reflection of the question at the core of Einstein’s work: the question of distances,” says Quirinus Reichen, a curator at the museum.

Half the exhibition focuses on the world of physics, starting with hands-on examples of early scientific feats such as Stonehenge, a Roman aqueduct and a Medieval catapult that has proven a literal hit with younger visitors — one managed to break a window. —AFP