2006-10-21 09:56:27 · 6 answers · asked by monkeychip1001 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Physics
it is the formula for chaning from matter to energy.
energy = mass * speed of light squared
2006-10-21 10:00:25 · answer #1 · answered by T-wad 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
It means that mc^2 is the full accounting of the potential energy within every rest mass m. It is a universally applicable result from Special Relativity, not just for nuclear reactions. Nuclear reactions simply involve so much energy that mass changes when they occur or more readily measurable. Theoretically, though, when you burn carbon in oxygen, the resultant CO2 molecules weighs less than of original C and O2 molecules combined, since some of the initial energy has been released in the form of heat (photons and photons). since c is so big, however, I'd be surprised if anyone has ever measured it directly.
2006-10-21 11:16:16 · answer #2 · answered by Dr. R 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Energy = mass multiplied by celeritas (Latin for "swiftness," meaning speed of light) squared.
It means that all mass is pure energy but highly condensed and that all energy is mass just not condensed at all. They can be transformed into each other into amounts specified by this equation. If 1 kilogram of mass is completely transformed into energy by any means, the most common being fusion and fission, then it will turn out to be approximately (9*10^16), that is, a nine followed by 16 zeroes, joules of energy. This is also about 25 trillion kilowatt hours, or about the strength of 21 megatons of trinitrotoluene (TNT). The actual amount would be 89,875,517,873,681,764 joules. For comparison, a softball dropped from the height of half a meter would have a kinetic energy of one joule.
A good book on E=mc^2 is by David Bodanis, its title is "E=mc^2". I would italicize or underline the title, but this program does not have a rich text editor for me to use. A good website is http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E%3Dmc%C2%B2, it is Wikipedia's page on the equation.
2006-10-21 11:15:28 · answer #3 · answered by Quantum.Pi 1 · 0⤊ 1⤋
yes the formula ise serious, but it only realtes to atoms that can undergo nuclear reactions for all practical purposes. you could not say for example that the average mass of a person times the speed of clight squared is equal to his total amount of energy becuase it is extremly unlikely that a person would undergo a fission or fusion reaction. you could use it on say, some atoms of plutonium however. bascially the object yo are talking about has to be very small and radioactive.
the other posts are not wrong but they leave this point out.
2006-10-21 10:10:55 · answer #4 · answered by abcdefghijk 4 · 0⤊ 3⤋
energy equals mass times the speed of light, squared. What it means is that nothing is created or destroyed. Mass can change to energy, and energy to mass.
2006-10-21 09:59:31 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
THAT ANY THING HEAVIER THAN LIGHT PARTICLES IS RESTRICTED AS TO HOW FAST IT CAN MOVE THROUGH ANY SPACE.
IT'S REALLY JUST A SPEED LIMIT SIGN. AND WILL NEVER HAVE ANY EFFECT ON YOU IN YOUR LIFE TIME.
2006-10-21 12:12:19 · answer #6 · answered by Bear 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋