Einstein's E= mc2 - as I understand it E represents Energy, m represents mass,?

Question

why did he use the letter c to represent the speed of light. What is the significance of using the letter c?

Answer 1

C is for constant which helps describe the speed of light. The speed of light is a fixed constant, it doesn't change.

Addition to my answer: I see a lot of answers below that refer to c= celeritas. I was taught that c=constant and see that a lot of other people are answering the same as me. Is this being taught 2 different ways?

Answer 2

yeah. "It followed from the special theory of relativity that mass and energy are both but different manifestations of the same thing -- a somewhat unfamiliar conception for the average mind. Furthermore, the equation E is equal to m c-squared, in which energy is put equal to mass, multiplied by the square of the velocity of light, showed that very small amounts of mass may be converted into a very large amount of energy and vice versa. The mass and energy were in fact equivalent, according to the formula mentioned above. This was demonstrated by Cockcroft and Walton in 1932, experimentally." (Albert Einstein , http://www.aip.org/history/einstein/voice1.htm )

Answer 3

Energy (E) equals mass (m) times the speed of light (c) squared

As for the significance of the letter c, it is also used to describe, for example, the speed of a wave or group of waves in any medium.

In the text book "Fluid Mechanics", by Douglas et al, the letter c is used to denote wave speed

Answer 4

Because i presume the letter c was not being used at that time to represent any constant so he used it to represent the speed of light which is a constant.

Answer 5

at the start, that's the equation of the "relax mass ability" of something. If we've been to thoroughly wreck each and all of the difficulty in suggested ingredient, the flexibility released would be equivalent to mc^2. easy does not have mass. although, it does have ability and momentum. The "each and every answer is diverse" is probably to human beings touching on wave-particle duality, the place in specific situations, easy can act like a particle and vice versa. This ability is the comprehensive ability output by destroying a definite quantity of mass. All ability is conserved, so this ability is released interior the fashion of sunshine, warmth and each so often different debris. Nuclear ability stations artwork decrease than this concept. If we've been to ascertain the mass of Uranium getting into to the mass of this is products, we are able to verify that the mass has decreased. The ability from this destroyed mass is harnessed for us to apply later.

Answer 6

The speed of light doesn't alter at all. It just carries on at the same speed. It is the only constant in the universe, hence the letter C.

Answer 7

E=mc2 is one of the most famous equations in physics, even to non-physicists. It states a relationship between energy (E), in whatever form, and mass (m). In this formula, c², the square of the speed of light in a vacuum, is the conversion factor required to formally convert from units of mass to units of energy, i.e. the energy per unit mass. In unit-specific terms, E (joules) = m (kilograms) multiplied by (299792458 m/s)2.

The equation was first published in a slightly different formulation by Albert Einstein in 1905 in one of his famous articles. He derived it as a consequence of the special theory of relativity which he had proposed the same year.

Answer 8

It is an equation that says Energy=Mass x c2 (c2 means the speed of light squared)
Specifically, it means that Energy is equal to Mass times the speed of light squared. In essence, it states that there is an equivalence between mass and energy

Simply put:
E-Energy
M-Mass
C-Light
2-Squared

Answer 9

Answer: those who suggested the Latin c for celeritas, meaning 'speed', have the right of it. It is to do with the 'speed of light'. The same root gives us ac..celer..ation.

Those who 'know' or were taught that c=constant have been misinformed. The generic scientific shorthand for a constant that has not been assigned a specific name or letter is 'k', not 'c'.

Answer 10

The equivalent amount of energy (which you measure in joules) to a lump of matter is equal to it's mass (in kilograms) times the speed of light (in metres per second) times the speed of light again (in metres per second).

It's more about working out how much energy is equivalent to a given amount of mass. There's quite a bit in there, as most nuclear explosions will show :o)

This equation is a bit similar to the one for working out kinetic (or 'movement') energy for a moving body, in that it uses the same units: Kinetic energy (in joules) equals half of the mass of thing (in kg) times its velocity (in metres per second) times its velocity again.

Given that the fastest velocity anything can take is the speed of light ( which is the 'c' in the equation), the max amount of energy that a lump of mass can have is given by Einsteins equation.