Test of Time
Are Einstein's theories still accepted?
Yes. Einstein's tale encompasses the vast sweep of modern science, from the infinitesimal to the infinite -- from the smallest event imaginable, the emission of photons, to the largest conceivable event, expansion of the cosmos. A century after his great triumphs, we are still living in his universe. Photoelectric cells and television, nuclear power and lasers, space travel and even semiconductors all bear his fingerprints. He signed the letter to President Roosevelt suggesting a project to build an atom bomb, and the letters of his famed equation relating energy to mass hover in our minds when we picture the resulting mushroom cloud. The two great theories that in 1905 he ushered into the 20th century -- quantum theory and relativity -- are still twin pillars (although somewhat incompatible ones) of theoretical physics a century later.