Why is the amount of energy in matter equal to the square of its speed limit? Why that number?
2006-08-20 15:18:02 · 11 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Physics
it relates dirctly to mass... mass being equal to energy in the proportion that just happens to be equal to the speed of light squared
2006-08-20 15:25:10 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
E=MC^2 is a special case of the general equation Ek=1/2MV^2, which is the general statement of the kinetic energy of a moving object. That is, "kinetic Energy equals one half the Mass of the moving object times the Velocity of the moving object squared," or as we used to say in the bushes (before the Bushes), "kinetic Energy goes as one half Mass times the square of the velocity."
An automobile moving 20 mph contains four times the kinetic energy (WHAMO POWER) of the same automobile at 10 mph.
So E=MC^2 is the special case that applies to the theoretical amount of energy that would be released if the car (or any object) was entirely converted to energy.
Doggie understands, but would prefer something to eat.
2006-08-20 22:52:21 · answer #2 · answered by aviophage 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Well yea, essentially you need to realize that E=mc^2 didn't just pop into his head.
Essentially Einstein figured out first that mass increases as speed increases. He noted the scale was exponential, and appeared in the form of M = Initial mass / root (1-v^2/c^2). This equation was acturally derived earlier from Special Relativity. From here using kinetics and calculus he derived the simplified equation E=mc^2 because...well
physicists like their equations to be as simple as possible. That and he now figured out that Mass is simply a different manifestation of energy.
2006-08-20 22:47:34 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
The equation relates to how much energy is released if a given mass of material were completely and instantly converted to energy. The speed of light is measure of distance traveled over time. It's the same equation for measuring Horsepower and Joules, taken to the extreme end of physics.
3 x 10^8 (m/s) is metres per second not mass.(sorry me)
2006-08-20 22:32:13 · answer #4 · answered by da3moosekiteers 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
i will try to answer your question as intuitively as possible...
essentially, the principle finding of relativity is that MATTER and ENERGY are different "phases" of the same thing ( call it mass-energy ).
the universal speed limit as you call it is simply the speed at which ENERGY ( light ) exists.
the general formula for energy of any moving object is its mass times its speed squared . ( why you ask is basically a fundamental feature of the universe ! ) . in other words, it is experimentally PROVEN or OBSERVED.
because relativity states that matter and energy are essentially different manifestations of one entity, we enter the speed of light instead of the speed of the mass in the above equation. ( we pretend the mass to be a lump of energy ( light ) whose speed is "c". what we really are saying is that if the mass was converted completely into energy ( "lump of light" ) then its energy would be the mass times the speed of light squared !
E=MC^2 is essentially a re-formulation of this older concept of energy being proportional to the mass times its speed squared.
you can think of matter as a form of "frozen potential energy" or frozen or "condensed" light.
the key to understanding this concept is remembering that energy and matter are interconvertible !
hope i shed some "light" on your intriguing question !
:)
2006-08-20 23:54:38 · answer #5 · answered by fullbony 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The speed of light has many deviations in that time or in this case quantum time relate to the relation of energy within matter. Meaning mostly that matter which is the definite in the universe will always compete against the time waves in order to create a constant.
2006-08-20 23:36:07 · answer #6 · answered by BioGuru 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Light has no mass - it is pure energy. And as such, has a volocity directly related to it's rest mass. Albert didn't didn't just arbitrarily choose the speed of light and square it so he could represent a very, very large quantity. It's what his equations factured down to: E=MC2.
2006-08-20 22:38:15 · answer #7 · answered by LeAnne 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Because that's what Einstein discovered. "c" refers to the speed of light which is equal to 3 x 10^8 (m/s), and "m" in the equation refers to mass.
2006-08-20 22:25:20 · answer #8 · answered by me 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋
From my reading of your question, it seems that nothing less than a demonstration of the derivation of the famous equation will suffice.
Such a demonstration is available at the bottom of the following web page.
2006-08-20 22:48:47 · answer #9 · answered by Mr. E 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Sir Einstein figured this equation. Actually there are many implications and derivations to E=mc^2 that is crucial in branches of chemistry and physics.
2006-08-20 22:23:27 · answer #10 · answered by VT 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋