Topic description and stories

Einstein's violin, sold by Dominic Winter Auctioneers in 2025

Einstein’s violin identified by Cambridge composer of ‘Einstein’s Violin’

07 Oct 2025

Albert Einstein’s violin has been identified by Dr Paul Wingfield, composer of a musical drama about Einstein’s life as a violinist.

Read more

First detection of gravitational waves and light produced by colliding neutron stars

16 Oct 2017

In a galaxy far away, two dead stars begin a final spiral into a massive collision. The resulting explosion unleashes a huge burst of energy, sending...

Read more

Gravitational vortex provides new way to study matter close to a black hole

12 Jul 2016

An international team of astronomers has proved the existence of a ‘gravitational vortex’ around a black hole, solving a mystery that has eluded...

Read more

Priceless treasures: in a shot commissioned to celebrate Cambridge University Library’s 600th anniversary, Professor Stephen Hawking is pictured with Newton’s annotated first edition of Principia Mathematica.  Credit: Graham CopeKoga

Understanding gravity - from Newton to Hawking

29 Apr 2016

The most important publication in the history of science – Isaac Newton’s own annotated copy of Principia Mathematica – and other seminal works by...

Read more
Max Born

Born identity revealed in newly-opened archive

07 Oct 2011

A Nobel Prize Medal, a postcard from Einstein and a Hitler-stamped letter of expulsion are among a fascinating archive of documents and other...

Read more