Time for a little education. Can anyone tell me (in laymens terms) what E=MC^2 means?

Question

This is a very simple question. Do not overthink it. Just state what it means. Hint: E = Energy

Very good class 8-)

Matter and Energy are the same thing, only in different forms. Einsteins profound famous Equation tells us this ;-)
He must have been a genius ............ uh yeah...... he WAS a genius LOL

John M
has lost his medication again :-( sorry for the interruption folks.

Answer 1

energy = mass times the velocity of light squared.

Basically, the equation states that matter and energy are identical. If you could convert a small amount of matter completely, it would yield a tremendous amount of energy.

Answer 2

E= m C^2.

E is energy. C is a constant.

Therefore E is proportional to the mass of a body. But mass is a function of velocity.

Suppose if m is the mass of a body, then its mass will increase with its speed.

m and v are related by m = m0 / square root of [1- (v/c) ^2].

Therefore in the above equation m is the increase of mass when the mass is at rest to the mass when it reaches the speed v. The kinetic energy of motion is increase in mass x C^2.

I f m = m0 the rest mass of the body, then the above equation becomes E = m0 C^2.

This is the energy of mass m0 when at rest. It is the internal energy of the body.
In classical Physics there was no such energy.

In early times mechanical work and heat were considered to be different and we used a term mechanical equivalent of heat to convert work into heat and vice versa.

Now we know both are energy and use a single unit of measurement namely joule.
Similarly now mass and energy are one and the same but in different form.

Then the question of conversion factor arises.

I kg mass is 9x10^16 joule.

The above equation can be interpreted as the equation to convert the mass unit into an equivalent energy unit.

The rest mass of a photon is zero. Therefore, a photon can never have internal energy (potential energy). But it possesses kinetic energy and momentum. Hence it has an equivalent mass.
The above equation is used to find the mass of a photon when it moves with the speed of light.

Since the maximum speed of light (mass less photon) is C. Any material object (which has rest mass) cannot exceed the speed of light.

Thus the equation has many faces.

Answer 3

This equation helps determine the engergy created during nuclear fission and fusion. It is a correction to the energy equation.

E=1/2mv^2 + mgh
or
E=1/2mv^2 + mgh + MC^2

In nuclear physics the particles are soo small that the the first two term (1/2mv^2 + mgh) are negligable. So you are left with MC^2. When a nuclear reaction happens light is given off, usually in the form of gamma radiation. C is the constant for light 8x10^8 m/s I foget the feet/s but it is pretty quick. M is the difference in the mass of the nuclear particles before and after the nuclear process (fission or fusion). So E=MC^2 gives you the energy of the gamma particle that is released during the nuclear process.

Answer 4

But...I overthink everything...

The answers here are fine, but the more profound insight is that there's something very 'funky' (I'm from the 60s) about the speed of light. That light should be involved in such a calculation means that it's very special...for one thing, nothing can travel faster (or even equal it) in speed. For another, light can behave as both a particle and a wave, depending on the experiment. Finally, the fact that most species have eyes to see it with confirms it's importance in the 'grand scheme of things'.

Answer 5

It's means the amount of energy produced when converting a small amount of mass is proportionally equal to the square of the speed of light. It can also mean if you willing to invest a little bit of energy to convert a mass into energy the result is tremendous rewarding but you will still need a lot of energy before you can make anything move at the speed of light.

Answer 6

By itself, this equation tells us that, when a quantity "m" of
matter is converted to energy, the amount produced is equal to m*c^2, where c
is the speed of light. One way this equation can be obtained: when Einstein
developed the special theory of relativity, he found it predicted that mass
increases with speed. When this is applied to a calculation for the kinetic
energy KE of a moving object traveling with speed v, one obtains the result KE
= (m - m0)*c^2 where m is the (increased) mass of the object when its speed is
v, and m0 is the mass of the object when it is at rest. Thus, an increase in
kinetic energy is accompanied by an increase in mass. Furthermore, this
suggests that, even when the object is not moving, there is a "rest-mass"
energy m0*c^2 associated with it.Then the total energy (kinetic + rest-mass
energy) is given by E=mc^2 . It was Einstein's great insight to assert that
matter and energy in general are, in essence, equivalent and interchangeable.
There was other evidence for such an assertion at that time. An experiment
done in 1890 confirmed that radiation exerts a pressure when it hits and is
absorbed by an object. Interpreted in the context of relativity, one is led
to the conclusion that when an object absorbs electromagnetic radiation of
energy E, its mass is increased by E/c^2. Thus, it seems reasonable to assign
an equivalent mass to radiation. Since then, the correctness of the E=mc^2
equation, as well as the mass- energy equivalence that underlies it, has been
widely confirmed by experiments

Answer 7

Energy = Mass x The speed of light ^2

Answer 8

Energy equals mass times the speed of light squared.

Proves matter and energy are the same.

Answer 9

Energy is equal to Mass times the speed of light squared.

Energy can be derived from taking some mass and making it go the speed of light squared.

Answer 10

It means a little bit of mass goes a hell of a long way when converted to energy. This is why something like a nuclear reaction releases so much energy: a mere fraction of the atom is converted, but the reaction releases so much that you'd never notice.

Answer 11

The amount of energy contained in matter (mass) is equivalent to the mass, multiplied by the speed of light, squared.