Albert Einstein is one of the most fascinating and influential figures of the modern era. As a preeminent physicist, he radically transformed our understanding of the universe.

Albert Einstein's contribution to modern physics is simply unique. His scientific career was a constant quest for the universal and immutable laws which govern the physical world. His theories spanned the fundamental questions of nature, from the very large to the very small, from the cosmos to sub-atomic particles. He overturned the established concepts of time and space, energy and matter. Einstein played a crucial role in establishing the two pillars of 20th century physics: he was the father of the theory of relativity and a major contributor to quantum theory.

Einstein reported a remarkable consequence of his special theory of relativity: if a body emits a certain amount of energy, then the mass of that body must decrease by a proportionate amount. Meanwhile he wrote a friend, "The relativity principle in connection with the Maxwell equations demands that the mass is a direct measure for the energy contained in bodies; light transfers mass... This thought is amusing and infectious, but I cannot possibly know whether the good Lord does not laugh at it and has led me up the garden path." Einstein and many others were soon convinced of its truth. The relationship is expressed as an equation: E=mc².