Einstein and the ether

In the eyes of most physicists and philosophers, Albert Einstein is
credited with abolishing the concept of the ether as a medium filling
space (or identified with it), which was responsible for carrying
electromagnetic, gravitational and other interactions. Today this opinion
is echoed in textbooks, encyclopaedias and scientific reviews. However, it
does not fully reflect the historical truth, and in a sense even represents a
distortion: the concept of the ether acquired new meaning in 1916 and, in
the relativity theory promoted and developed by Einstein, found a new
and interesting application. Einstein himself emphasises this fact in the
following words:
We may still use the word ether, but only to express the physical
properties of space. The word ether has changed its meaning many
times in the development of science. At the moment, it no longer
stands for a medium built up of particles. Its story, by no means
finished, is continued by the relativity theory.1 a1
Einstein denied the existence of the ether for only 11 years—from
1905 to 1916. Thereafter, he recognised that his attitude was too radical.........download the book her