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In the early twentieth Century two great revolutions took place in physics. Einstein was the hero of the first revolution, related to the introduction of relativity theory. Niels Bohr played a major role in the second revolution, associated with the rise of quantum mechanics. The impact of these two revolutions on physics itself was enormous. In this chapter Abraham Pais discusses aspects of their influence on the "philosophical" self-image of physics. Sadly Pais passed away before the publication of the paper. That is why the choice of the illustrations had to be ours. Our selection reflects an attempt to capture a small part of the impact of the developments in twentieth Century physics on culture as a whole, in particular with respect to the highly remarkable case of Albert Einstein. On the basis of Einstein's work in relativity theory he became per-haps the most populär scientist of all times. He appeared in poems and inspired novelists and artists. Usually, whether in cartoons, in commercials, on T-shirts or on ties (Figure 3), his face represents intelligence. It is a reassuring and familiär image of almost supernatural intelligence. Yet his face has been used to represent other things as well. In the first half of the twentieth Century for many intellectuals and artists Einstein represented a revolutionary; someone prepared to challenge traditional values. Friedman and Donley have pointed out that in post-war newspapers Einstein appeared as a tragic figure, as a modern Prometheus. On the cover of Time magazine of July 1, 1946, Einstein was associated with nuclear weapons (Figure 2). Behind him rises a mushroom cloud with in it the equation E = mc². Yet, in the end, the image of the great physicist and the superior intelligence prevailed. In 1997 Einstein reappeared on the cover of Time Magazine. According to Friedman and Donley his face now radiated cosmic humility, generosity and unselfishness. In 2000, Einstein was again on the cover of Time Magazine, this time as man of the century.

DOI: 10.1007/978-94-010-0587-6_5

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