Matter has energy, but energy is not matter?

Question

Is this correct? I have a hard time understanding the relationship between matter, mass, and energy. Any help will be much appreciated!

Answer 1

Energy has been used by physicists as a "universal currency" for phenomena. It is an idea--one constructed in a way that it remains constant, when other appearances change. For example, you slide something along the table . . . it stops. You could then say, HA, energy is not conserved! But then someone else comes along, Joule say, and then says, but look, the thing heated up as it stopped, thus, we write heat into the equations in the form of energy, and energy remains conserved. The main point is that energy is not a "thing", like mass, length, or time. It is a concept, with dimensions mass*(length/time)^2 that relates the interactions of mass, length, and time.

Answer 2

The problem with this simplistic analogy is that it is impossible to force energy to produce matter. It happens at very small scales, but because of entropy, free energy or energy in the form of light or heat is much much more likely than energy being forced to be structured mass. The reverse process, however, is done. Nuclear explosions are a result of the reverse process, that is, mass converting into energy. It should be noted that not all of the uranium/plutonium mass is annihilated in a reaction, so you do not see explosions which would cripple the world ( that little 9x10^16 joules you have up there). Only a small amount of the material actually annihilates. To understand just how serious this is, just open a book and look at the mean life of a particle such as a pion, which gives up the great majority of its mass when it decays into an electron/positron and photon.

Answer 3

Energy stems out of the power locked in space structure.
The power locked in space causes motion of particle masses which in turn forms the more complex mass structure.When a mass moves it is said to have energy.So Energy identifies a process in the motion of mass structures.
Matter is a substance which exists in space ;mass is a structure of which composes a material. The masses in a material are locked in as planetary motion around larger masses. What results from the motion of particle in a mass structure is the Energy of structure.
Energy is a process ,mass is a structure .
Mass does not convert to energy and energy does not convert to mass. wind is the power that pushes the apple.
The wind is not an apple and the apple is not the wind.
The conscensus belief about E=mc^2 is that mass transform into energy and energy transform into mass;This is simply not true.The equation was developed by Henri Poincare and the equation was later changed by others to mean something else =that energy is mass.As you can see the logic does not fit. Mass is certainly not energy, and energy is not mass.

Answer 4

heat is not matter. heat is energy.

matter is a form of energy.

The relationship is E = mc^2 for matter (the amount of energy that is 'locked up' as matter).

A 1 kg block of ice contains 9x10^16 Joules locked up as matter.

A 1 kg block of ice at -3 C (26 F) contains 1,130,440 Joules of heat energy (plus the 90,000,000,000,000,000 Joules of matter).

A 1 kg block of ice, at -3 C, moving at 45 m/s (100 mph = 162 km/h) contains 1,000 Joules of kinetic energy (plus the heat, plus the matter).

And so on.

All this energy is useless unless one can make it work. And it will not 'work' unless it can flow into... something.

If the block of ice is in space far from everything, its energy is useless.

To use the kinetic energy, we must have the blcok of ice hit, push or pull something. Then some of the kinetic energy can be used (and the block will slow down, having lost kinetic energy).

To use the heat energy, we must put the block of ice in an environment that is colder than the block. Otherwise, heat will not 'flow' out. For example, if you put it on your kitchen floor, where it is +20C (68F), the heat will flow from the kitchen air to the block, where the ice will use it to do 'work': break the cristalization bonds that keep it as ice, and melt into water (causing you to work with the mop).

It is much more difficult to use the energy stored as matter.

Answer 5

Energy is the ability to do work. Before Einstein, it was thought that a particle's ability to do work must be due either to its motion (kinetic energy) or its position in a field of force (potential energy). Einstein discovered that every massive body also possesses a certain amount of energy, called its rest energy, that is proportional to its mass. If a massive particle is converted to a system of particles with less total mass, and therefore less total rest energy, the difference in energy is available to do work, as either kinetic or potential energy of the produced particles.

Answer 6

Cirric is correct, but I'll add an illustration. When a high frequency electromagnetic wave enters near the center of an atom it is able to forms electron pairs. One is negative and the other positive. These electrons were energy before becoming mass. These bits of mass are able to convert back into radiation (energy).

Answer 7

Hi. Matter is made of particles. Each particle contains a certain energy needed to form it (a long time ago). The particle can be converted back to energy in several ways, none of them pleasant. The energy given off is EXACTLY equal to the energy from which it formed. My understanding.

Answer 8

may be this is right
les see
matter are ade of particles,which ar fundamental and matter has mass which also a fundamental unit,
now energy = work=mass * acceleration
so energy and mass are directly related,
but this is true, that
if mass acquire the acceleration or velocity of light the mass become 0 , and...and... and.. if you send any me to sun then beore reaching to sun i will be heated up and will become flames whic have hea and heat is a form of energy, so this is difficult to say but you are very much right but may be not...

Answer 9

Energy and matter are different forms of the same thing.

Answer 10

Einstein explained the relationship between energy and matter in his theory of Special Relativity. It’s the now famous formula E = mc^2. You can start here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E%3Dmc%5E2