Einstein Publishes Relativity: Time and Space Redefined
Albert Einstein submitted his paper "On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies" to the journal Annalen der Physik on June 30, 1905, introducing the special theory of relativity. The 26-year-old patent clerk in Bern proposed two revolutionary postulates: the laws of physics are the same in all inertial reference frames, and the speed of light in a vacuum is constant regardless of the motion of the observer. The consequences were staggering: time slows down at high speeds, distances contract, mass increases, and simultaneity is relative. Einstein followed up three months later with a three-page paper deriving E=mc^2, showing that mass and energy are interchangeable. The 1905 "miracle year" also included papers on the photoelectric effect (which won him the Nobel Prize) and Brownian motion. He was working at the patent office because no university would hire him.
June 30, 1905
121 years ago
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Albert Einstein
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special relativity
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Annus Mirabilis Papers#Special relativity
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Albert Einstein
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Annus mirabilis papers
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Special relativity
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Annalen der Physik
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Annus mirabilis
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Lista de publicações científicas de Albert Einstein
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