Albert Einstein March 1905 Einstein sent to the annalen der physik a paper with a new understanding of the structure of light. he argued that light can act as though it consists of discrete independent particles of energy, in some ways like the particles of a gas. His revolutionary proposal seemed to contradict the universally accepted theory that light consists of smoothly oscillating electromagnetic waves. But Einstein showed that light quanta, as he called the particles of energy, could help to explain phenomena being studied by experimental physicistsAlbert Einstein March 1905 Einstein sent to the Annalen der Physik a paper with a new understanding of the structure of light. He argued that light can act as though it consists of discrete, independent particles of energy, in some ways like the particles of a gas. His revolutionary proposal seemed to contradict the universally accepted theory that light consists of smoothly oscillating electromagnetic waves. But Einstein showed that light quanta, as he called the particles of energy, could help to explain phenomena being studied by experimental physicists