Matter has energy; is mass a type of energy?

Question

If matter is anything that has mass, and matter has energy, does that mean mass is a type of energy?

Answer 1

mass is not how much space matter is taking up. mass is a measure of how much matter. what's heavier, a pound of gold or a pound of feathers? both weigh the same and therefore have the same mass. but the pound of feathers is going to be the size of a pillow and the pound of gold can fit in your hand.
Mass is a measurement of "how many protons + neutrons + electrons" and each proton weighs a certain amount.
Einstein theorized in his special theory of general relativity, E = mc^2 that energy is proportional to mass. So if you have a pound of gold, that is equal to a certain amount of energy. it's a very large amount of energy in fact. this is because the proportionality constant c^2 is such a big number. but don't mistake the m in the equation for 1 pound.
1 pound is actually a measurement of weight, not mass. 1 pound of gold weighs less on the moon than in does here on earth, but it has the same mass in both places. m from einstein's equation is mass, not weight. luckily, that is a very easy conversion to go since the acceleration due to earth's gravity is a well known constant.

Answer 2

The better word is a form of energy, but yes, it is.

Under certain conditions, it is possible to take the energy contained in matter and turn it into other forms of energy (e.g., heat or light).

One example is nuclear energy. Every second, the sun takes 564 million tonnes of hydrogen and turns it into 560 million tonnes of helium (through a series of processes). The difference in mass (4.26 million tonnes per second) becomes the power that gives us life (heat and light).

The conversion factor is the equation: E = m c^2

However, it is not easy to transform matter into other forms of energy (and vice versa). But it is not impossible.

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Mass is a measure of matter used in equations where one analyses the reaction of objects to forces (and things like that).

Energy does have effects similar to mass: it curves space-time (causes gravity), it is affected by gravity (light will be deflected by gravity), it can be affected by forces. So the line between mass and energy is not always clear cut.

However, in our everyday life, we can consider them as two very distinct things: here is a mass, there is some energy. They may interact but we can always consider them as distinct 'objects'.

Here is a rock.. There is the infra-red ray of light hitting the rock. The light heats up the rock. When the light ceases (and the surrounding area cools down), the rock will give off its heat... as infrared light. It is as if the heat of the light was stored as 'heat of the rock' then released again as heat of light.

However, relativists will say that the energy of the light ray was absorbed and the rock became (ever so slightly) more massive because of the energy it absorbed.

Two ways of looking at the same thing and they both work in our everyday life. For the accuracy we need, the calculations that keep them separate are much easier and give good answers.

If you try this with a rock that is moving at very close to the speed of light in a very steep gravitational field (like: approaching a black hole), then the newer way of calculating will give more accurate results.

Answer 3

Mass is a measure of how much space matter takes up(which is usually measured in grams). Energy is not matter because it does not have mass or take up space. Therefore Mass could not be a type of energy.

Answer 4

It's mass. Specifically, mass is equivalent to energy. This means that the two can be exchanged, but mass is not the exact same thing as energy.

Answer 5

Mass is a measurement

Answer 6

Yes. Beep! You are correct. As always, the equation:
E = MC Squar3d!

Answer 7

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