112 E = mc2
This work led to Einstein’s revolutionary concept of relativity. From the mathematics
that described this concept, he came to several startling conclusions. Time was as rubbery as
space. It slowed down as an object sped up. Objects increase in mass as they approach
nearer to light speed. Einstein’s theory of relativity established a direct link between space
and time and showed that they both warp around heavy objects (like stars). Their measurement is only possible in a relative, not an absolute, sense.
From this theoretical foundation, Einstein continued his mathematical development
and showed that, as an object approaches the speed of light, its length decreases, its mass increases, and time slows down. (This concept was later confirmed with precision clocks carried on high-speed jet airplanes.)
If matter changed as it sped up, then matter and energy had to be somehow related to
each other. Einstein realized that his theory of relativity showed that matter has to be a
highly concentrated form of energy. He suspected that he could deduce a mathematical relationship between the two.
Einstein realized that this revolutionary concept contradicted the famed and completely accepted concepts of conservation of mass (Lavoisier, 1789) and conservation of
energy (Hemholtz, 1847). Einstein was saying that these two giants of science were both
w