E=MC^2 question?

Question

is it possible to materialize energy? since we can turn matter into energy we must be able to turn energy into matter. is this already being applied? if so how? if not how far along are the studies?

Answer 1

This equation forms the basis of energy release via nuclear fission (like in our nuclear power reactors and atomic weapons) and nuclear fusion (in the Sun and nuclear weapons).

During fission and fusion a small amount of mass is converted into energy according to this equation.

It also forms a huge role in particle accelerator experiments, where energetic particles are slammed into one another to form heavier particles. The mass of the particles and their energy help form heavier particles. The largest particle experiments are carried out at CERN near Geneva.

In fact, without this equation there would be very few elements as the replusive forces on protons would destroy any nucleus. When a nucleus is formed some of the mass (called mass defect) is converted into energy. This energy is used to hold the nucleus together. This is called Binding Energy.

See these links...

http://public.web.cern.ch/Public/Welcome.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E%3Dmc2
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binding_energy
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_fusion
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_fission
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pair_production

Answer 2

Energy is being turned into matter all of the time at the subatomic level. We don't do it, it just happens.

E=mc^2 relates a massive amount of energy to a very small amount of matter. If you could free up all of the mass in a little 1g paperclip and convert it to energy, it would equal .001 * (3 * 10^8) * (3 * 10^8) or 9 * 10^13 joules. The atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima released approximately 3 * 10^12 joules.

We don't have the ability to control the amount of energy required to make a sizeable amount of mass. It happens in CERN and FermiLab.

Answer 3

It is, and is being done, but it won't put cereal on your table. At the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center, electrons are fired down a long tube and accelerated by RF fields. After just a few feet, the electrons are going at 90% of the speed of light, but they get kicked in the tail for another two miles, by which time their mass has increased by a factor of 40,000. The process requires a lot of electrical energy; a special power line had to be built to bring it in. (The citizens of Woodside, through which it passes, were not happy about this.)

Answer 4

Yes, energy can be turned into matter. When we do it we always produce an anti-particle and its compliment, thus the anti-particle will usually find something to annihilate with and turn back into energy. The second law of thermodynamics suggests that we won't be using this as an afforable means to produce gold or anything else of bulk in the future.

Answer 5

Yes energy can be converted into matter. But energy is much more valuable than matter, so there is really no point in trying. However, it has been done at CERN, a particle accelerator in europe. By accelerating particles to near light speed, they have more than doubled the mass of those particles.

It all has to do with relativity and why we can't go faster than the speed of light. You see, the faster you go, the more massive you become. At everyday speeds, the effect is unnoticeable, but once you get up near light speed, things become a little bit more obvious. You start to get heavier.

Why? Well you can't go faster than the speed of light, but you can increase your energy output to accelerate yourself even at near-light speed. Say you're going 1 m/sec under the speed of light, and you give your rockets enough boost to accelerate you to 5 m/sec faster. Well this simply isn't doable, so the energy instead converts itself into mass.

This happens according to the equation:
M=m/(sqare root of(1-(v/c)^2))
M is how much you weigh when you factor in your velocity. m is how much you weigh when you're not moving. So say you're going 0.999 times the speed of light. The square root of one minus 0.998 (v/c^2) equals 0.045. So divide your mass (let's say you went on a diet and now weigh 1 pound) by 0.045, and you wind up with 22.222. So you are 22.222 times heavier when you are moving at 0.999 times the speed of light.

The bottom line is: yes, it is possible to materialize energy.

Answer 6

It's possible. See http://www.hep.princeton.edu/~mcdonald/e144/discover.html
 
Update: see also http://www.slac.stanford.edu/exp/e144/nytimes.html and http://www.slac.stanford.edu/exp/e144/science1202.html

Answer 7

in scince ,(must be able),is not realistic.

Answer 8

Energy cannot be created or destroyed.
So no.