QuoteWho first discovered the world formula: Me, or... "If we consider the gravitational field and the electromagnetic field from the standpoint of the ether hypothesis, there is a remarkable fundamental difference between the two. No space, and no part of space, exists without gravitational potentials; for these give it its metric properties, without which it cannot be conceived at all. The existence of the gravitational field is directly bound to the existence of space. In contrast, a part of space can very well be conceived without an electromagnetic field; the electromagnetic field thus appears, in contrast to the gravitational field, to be bound to the ether only secondarily, in that the formal nature of the electromagnetic field is not yet determined by that of the gravitational ether. According to the current state of theory, it appears that the electromagnetic field, in contrast to the gravitational field, is based on a completely new formal motif, as if nature could have endowed the gravitational ether not with fields of the electromagnetic type, but just as well with fields of a completely different type, e.g., with fields of a scalar potential. Since, according to our current understanding, even the elementary particles of matter are essentially nothing other than condensations of the electromagnetic field, our current worldview recognizes two conceptually completely separate, albeit causally linked, realities: namely, the gravitational ether and the electromagnetic field, or—as one might also call them—space and matter..... ... In summary, we can say: According to general relativity, space is endowed with physical qualities; thus, an ether exists in this sense. According to general relativity, a space without an ether is inconceivable; for in such a space there would not only be no propagation of light, but also no possibility of the existence of measuring rods and clocks, and therefore no spatiotemporal distances in the sense of physics. However, this ether must not be conceived of as consisting of parts traceable through time, a property characteristic of ponderable media; the concept of motion must not be applied to it. not to be applied." (Albert Einstein, May 5, 1920 in Leiden, from Peter Loskarn's website
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