As a consequence of Albert Einstein’s work, it was clear to all that time and space comprise a single continuum.

It was on March 20, 1916 that Albert Einstein presented to the German scientific journal Annalen der Physik his final version and answer to the scientific problem he had been fighting off for nearly 10 years. He termed it as a “General Theory of Relativity.”

The General Theory, as per him, dealt with the relationships between space, time, matter, energy and gravity. It also altered Newtonian physics’ understanding of them. With Einstein’s equations, which were confirmed experimentally, it was clear that time and space comprise a single continuum, and their shape can be bent or warped by gravitation.

In the year 1905, Albert Einstein published his “Special Theory of Relativity,” in which he explained how the speed of light is absolute and constant, even if it appears to be variable. He then came up with his now well-known equation E=MC2, which means the interchangeable relationship between matter and energy. It also meant that if the energy holding together the nucleus of an atom could be released, it would lead to an explosive power, which eventually led to the birth of the atomic bomb, much to Einstein’s regret.

While his Special Theory revolved around a straight line and at a fixed velocity, Einstein had to then work on a “general theory” to understand the relationship between the same variables. By November 1915, he wrapped up most of the details, he presented his own General Theory of Relativity in 1916.

The first experimental confirmation of  E=MC2 was also confirmed with a practical experiment of how a starlight would shift, and when the measurements confirmed the accuracy of his calculations, he made it to headlines worldwide.

In 1921, Einstein was honoured with the Nobel Prize for Physics, but not for his theories of relativity, but for his work on the photoelectric effect.