Science progresses in secret: the banquets
The Solvay Conferences are not limited to presentations by scientists … Banquets, dinners, invitations and such are also highlights of these events. Here is a brief overview of these activities.
The seating arrangements of the banquets are prepared with care. Two to three dinners or banquets were organised for each Conference. A closed group of scholars, carefully selected from among the members present, were regularly received by the king and queen. One notably recalls the bond formed between Albert Einstein and Queen Elisabeth. In most cases, one banquet was organised by the Solvay family and another by the board of directors of the International Solvay Institute for Physics or the International Solvay Institute for Chemistry, according to the Conference being held (a Conference on Physics or a Conference on Chemistry).
The meals organized by the Conferences on Physics are sumptuous and offer refined dishes.
These casual settings are often ideal places in which to continue debating certain controversial issues and sometimes even to compose poems …
