Einstein's solution to the Maxwell-Newton conflict was to reject the idea that electromagnetic waves travel through a medium and instead take literally Maxwell's equations that predict everyone measures the same speed of light, which required completely reconceptualizing space and time.

factualpending

Speaker

Sean Carroll

Evidence Quote

It was Einstein, Albert Einstein in his great paper in 1905 who first said you should get rid of the idea of these waves traveling through a medium... Take that seriously. All you have to do is entirely rejigger your thoughts about what space and time are.

Source

Sean Carroll: Einstein’s most radical thoughtBig Think
Created: 8/11/2026, 7:47:10 AM

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