On the morning train of thought

Hebrew U professors board commuter trains, give lectures on Nat'l Science Day.

By BENJAMIN SPIER
livni got the blues 248 88 ap (photo credit: AP [file])
livni got the blues 248 88 ap
(photo credit: AP [file])
Travelers were met by lectures in various fields of science during their Sunday morning commute, as three Hebrew University professors gave lectures on a train traveling north from Beersheba.
Sunday’s lectures mark National Science Day, celebrated yearly on Albert Einstein’s birthday, and are part of a monthly series put together by the Hebrew University and Israel  Railways.
The first lecture was given by former Hebrew University President Prof. Hanoch Gutfreund, about Albert Einstein's scientific contributions. Gutfreund also spoke about Einstein’s personal and love life.
Physicist Yehonadav Bekenstein presented experiments during the second lecture. The experiments were interactive with the commuters on the trains, forcing soldiers and students out of their seats to take part. He used a toy acrobat and a pink liquid in a beaker, which he called a love potion, to demonstrate some of the laws of physics.
After the train reached Tel Aviv, Prof. Haim Rabinowitch boarded to teach Haifa bound passengers about cherry tomatoes, which he helped develop.
“Science is not just in the universities, it is all around us. We justneed to open our eyes and see that everything has a scientificexplanation,” said Bekenstein about the importance of his experiments.
Some passengers paid close attention to the lectures, while otherschose to continue their usual commuting activities like sleeping andreading.
“On the train today it was sensational,” said Gutfreund after hislecture on Einstein. “People asked questions, were very attentive, andtold me how much they appreciated it.”