While Einstein’s insights would be confirmed within a few years, they continue to be tested and validated to this very day. Over the next ten years, Einstien would attempt to generalize the theory to explain how electromagnetism and classic mechanics could be resolved with gravity – which yielded GR. To break it down, Einstein proposed SR in 1905 to resolve experiments involving light with classical physics.

As you can probably tell, explaining how Einstein’s groundbreaking theory works require a deep dive into the history of physics, some advanced concepts, and how it all came together for one of the greatest minds of all time! And the term “Relativity” itself goes back to Galileo Galilee and his explanation for why motion and velocity are relative to the observer. In fact, Relativity may be the best-known scientific concept that few people truly understand.įor example, Einstein’s Theory of Relativity comes in two parts: the Special Theory of Relativity (SR and the General Theory of Relativity (GR). But the most famous and renowned is arguably Albert Einstein, Relativity, and the famous equation, E=mc 2. In terms of theories, there’s Archimede’s “Eureka,” Newton’s Apple (Universal Gravitation), and Schrodinger’s Cat (quantum mechanics). In terms of scientists, notable examples include Pythagoras, Aristotle, Galileo, Newton, Planck, and Hawking.

In the history of science and physics, several scholars, theories, and equations have become household names.

Theory of relativity by einstein