Einstein's ultimate conclusion regarding ether and Relativity?

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Einstein's 1920 paper explores the concept of ether in relation to General Relativity, concluding that while the classical notion of ether is obsolete, there must be a substance in space capable of transporting electromagnetic energy. Although Einstein dismissed the need for ether in Special Relativity, he acknowledged a form of "something" in General Relativity due to mass's influence on spacetime. Subsequent physics has largely progressed without invoking ether, instead considering the vacuum as a potential medium.

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W.RonG
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Hi again. I just re-read the paper from 1920 where Einstein ponders "ether". Based on General Relativity he seemed to conclude that there must be something in space besides nothing. It does not have mechanical properties as the old "aether" was assigned before Relativity, but it must be capable of transporting electromagnetic energy/waves (light, etc). Has there been any advance in the thinking about or modeling of the substance of space since then?
thanks.
rg
 
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Einstein got rid of the ether with special relativity because the classical reasons for it were no longer necessary. But with general relativity, in which mass modifies spacetime, he felt that there was still "something" there. Nevertheless, physics has subsequently been developed without reference to an underlying medium like the ether (unless the "vacuum" now plays that role).
 

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