Fifty years after his death, Albert Einstein’s theories are still valid. The theory of special relativity (1905), with its famous equation E = mc2, shows its validity in the dependence of the speed of the average lifetime of elementary particles and the conversion of mass into energy in nuclear processes.

Furthermore, thanks to the theory of general relativity (1915) we understand the paths followed by rays of light in the presence of gravitational fields, as well as the dynamics and structure of the universe itself. Einstein’s ideas were also instrumental in the development of the GPS (Global Position System), and the understanding of black holes, largely questioned in the scientific community.

He was also one of the pioneers of quantum physics, though he wouldn’t accept its final formulation. His law of the photoelectric effect (1905), for which he was awarded the Nobel Prize, is used in countless systems and objects daily. The slowing of atoms by use of cooling apparatuses produces a singular quantum state known as Bose–Einstein condensate which is now the subject of intense theoretical and experimental study.