# #Mon Aug 09 11:45:18 CEST 2010 Text__sdhUwKOaEd-WfYQ0GneCwQ_text=At the age of sixteen, Einstein writes his first physics essay, which he sends to his uncle Caesar Koch. Consistent with the physics of the time, he presumes that space is filled by an elastic substance, \u201Cthe ether.\u201D Einstein investigates the issue of the influence of magnetic fields on the ether. Such fields cause a mechanical deformation of the ether, which affect the velocity of propagation of electromagnetic waves within it. Text__sdhUwKOaEd-WfYQ0GneCwQ_title=Einstein\u2019s First Scientific Essay