Before the discovery that birds can "see" Earth's magnetic field, Einstein discussed the possibility of animals having supersenses in a lost letter to an engineer in 1949. The letter was found and proved to be prophetic in biology and physics.
Although the original question from engineer Glyn Davys that gave rise to this correspondence has not been found, the Einstein's response suggests that Davys was interested in animal perception and what it might teach us about the world physicist.
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We now know that Einstein was right about birds' ability to sense the Earth's magnetic field. Evidence suggests they use special photoreceptors in their eyes that are sensitive to changes subtleties in the planet's magnetic field, allowing them to migrate thousands of kilometers without getting lost.
Sea turtles, dogs and bees also have the ability to sense Earth's magnetic fields, but not necessarily through their eyes, as do birds.
Researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem said it was impressive that Einstein conceived this possibility decades before empirical evidence showed that various animals can perceive magnetic fields for the navigation. The letter was donated to the university in 2021.
At the time the letter was written, the biological and physical sciences were merging like never before, and Einstein had some clues to guide his thinking. Echolocation in bats had recently been discovered and radar technology was just beginning to be used. Davys was a researcher in this area, and it is likely that he became interested in other strange animal senses, such as those of bees.
Einstein and Davys shared a fascination with biological science as a window into invisible physical forces. The physicist's letter confirms his interest in the behavior of bees, after attending a lecture by researcher Karl von Frisch at Princeton University.
While Davys is interested in how this new knowledge might inform technology, Einstein he argues that we need more biological research to reveal a new kind of perception sensory. The behavior of bees, for example, is helping to improve technology such as the cameras in iPhones. However, there is still much mystery to be unraveled about how animals perceive light or sense the Earth's magnetic field.
Bees sense the magnetic field in their abdomens, while birds and dogs do this predominantly through special photoreceptors in their eyes called cryptochromes. Even human cells produce cryptochromes, and studies show that these cells dynamically respond to changes in the magnetic field. This unique quantum reaction was dismissed by Einstein at the time, calling it "spooky action at a distance".
Even if Einstein wasn't always correct, he had an exceptional brain even when it came to fields outside his expertise.
