Arts said:

The Rev Dodgson said:

that in 1903 the Italian scientist Olinto De Pretto published that E = mc2 two years before Einstein.

Link

One of the most fascinating aspects of the history of science is how often we assume that our current understanding of the universe is the entirety of human knowledge, when in reality, scientists and thinkers have been grappling with these concepts for centuries.

Take the concept of mass-energy equivalence, for example.

While Einstein is famously credited with the equation E=mc², it’s little known that an Italian scientist named Olinto De Pretto may have beaten him to the punch by two years.

In 1903, De Pretto published a paper titled “Il destino delle stelle” or “The Fate of Stars”, in which he proposed the idea that mass and energy are interchangeable, using the formula E=mc².

Of course, it’s worth noting that De Pretto’s work was largely unknown outside of Italy at the time, and Einstein’s more comprehensive and widely-published work on relativity eventually won out in the annals of history.

In a fascinating footnote to this story, it’s also worth noting that Einstein himself was heavily influenced by the work of Henri Poincaré, a French mathematician who had been working on similar ideas in the early 1900s.

Poincaré’s work on electromagnetism and the nature of space and time laid the groundwork for many of Einstein’s most famous theories, and it’s clear that the development of modern physics was a collaborative effort that spanned multiple continents and decades.

But what’s most remarkable about this story is how it highlights the often-overlooked role of cultural and linguistic biases in the history of science.

Why did De Pretto’s work remain largely unknown outside of Italy, while Einstein’s similar ideas gained international acclaim?

The answer, of course, lies in the complex web of cultural and linguistic power dynamics that have shaped the development of modern science.

Finally, it’s worth noting that the equation E=mc² itself has a fascinating history that predates even De Pretto and Einstein.

The concept of mass-energy equivalence can be traced back to the work of 19th-century physicists like James Clerk Maxwell and Hermann Minkowski, who were grappling with the nature of energy and matter in the mid-1800s.

I didn’t even think Einstein was real.. I thought he was just a theoretical physicist.

LTJTB