Sunday, October 26th, 2008 | Author: markross
We have all heard of Albert Einstein’s famous formula but what does it really mean? In short, E= Mc2 tells us how much energy that we can get from a given amount of matter by multiplying the mass (m) by the speed of light (c) 2. This tells us how much “pure energy” can be produced by converting all of the matter in a body into pure energy. I have read that 1 gram of matter, which is a bout 1/3 the mass of a penny, converted completely to heat, could boil roughly 43,000,000 gallons of water, which would be enough water to fill about 85 Olympic swimming pools. Quite compelling huh?
Category: Science
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Sunday, October 26th, 2008 (url)
K,
You are absolutely correct in your assertions, in respect to traveling beyond the speed of light; as the speed (acceleration) increases, so does the mass necessary to accelerate to that speed.
Therefore, we could not go beyond the speed of light as it would likely take an insurmountable amount of energy to overcome that amount of mass.
I may be wrong, but I do not believe that Einstein formulated E=Mc2 to figure out the amount of energy required to reach or exceed the speed of light. He did however use this formula to show that mass can be converted into pure energy, as seen (sadly) in the development of atomic bombs. Just to make it clear, Einstein was completely against atomic weapons and pleaded for the powers to be, not to develop them.
Einstein also conceded that traveling beyond the speed of light by means of acceleration, would not be possible due to the aforementioned reasons.
The reason that particles can be accelerated to those speeds is likely because these experiments are conducted in a vacuum, in an particle accelerator.
Mark
Sunday, October 26th, 2008 (url)
You are also correct that the speed of light (c) is a constant, as light does travel at a constant velocity, therefore making it a great value to use in formulas.
Mass (gravitational mass) can absolutely fluctuate, depending on different variables; that is why the use of a scale to weigh an object is not very reliable. It is better to determine mass (m) by measuring the amount of force (inertial mass) needed to accelerate the object.
Inertial Mass is a measure of an object's resistance to changing its
state of motion when a force is applied. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass
Mark
Sunday, October 26th, 2008 (url)
I am unconvinced that E=mc² is correct. Lets look at this for a minute:
Broken down, the equation can be written as:
e = (m * c)²
e = m² * c²
Thus c² = e/m²
Now we can see where the problem starts. Since c is a constant and is a maximum of 299,792,458 m/s you can see how the theory is flawed. Since c² is always the same, the only fluxuation can come in the amount of energy or the amount of mass. Since we are using division, as the amount of energy increases, the amount of mass also increases proportionately, therefore you can never have enough energy nor a small enough mass to to exceed c. In otherwords you can never exceed the speed of light because the amount of energy required would be infinity.
Infinity of course is theoretical and cannot be reached, therefore we theorize faster than light travel is not possible. However, if we look at the facts, we know that scientists have indeed accellerated atomic particles past the speed of light. Therefore we can surmise that e=mc² is flawed.
It isn’t the end of the world though, frequently scientific theories are proven incorrect and we move along. What the solution is I don’t know … but I find it highly amusing that a man of Einstein’s intelligence would miss such a simple mathematical proof.
Monday, October 27th, 2008 (url)
I apologize for the misunderstanding, however, I do believe that we are having two different discussions, inside of one…
My original post had nothing to do with traveling at light speed, nor does E=MC2, to the best of my understanding. Here is Einstein's explanation, in his own voice, pretty cool actually:
http://www.aip.org/history/einstein/sound/voice1….
It was a formula developed that would show how mass could be converted into pure energy.
One of the most infamous examples of how this formula/experiment was used, was with the development of the atomic bomb.
However, the development of the atomic bomb had nothing to do with Einstein.
I started a new topic: Traveling at light-speed.
Thanks,
Mark
Monday, October 27th, 2008 (url)
Very Cool!
After listening to Einstein in his own words.
He postulates that energy and mass, bizarre as it may seem,
are different manifestations of the same thing.
So, in plain English, we get this…
Energy = Mass (times the constant (c) velocity of the speed of light, squared)
Mark
Tuesday, November 11th, 2008 (url)
Your math is incorrect.
E = m * (c)^2
or E = m * c * c.
so E = mc2
m = E/c2
c = Sqrt(E/m)
The real equivalence is more like this: E/c = m*c
c^2 is very, very easily explained. Any ‘speed’ that is squared is an ‘acceleration’ (look at the value for Earth ‘g’: 9.8 m/s^2). An acceleration is required to do mass-energy conversion. Accelerations are associated with ‘force’ (see Newton).
Therefore, what ‘E=mc2′ says is literally this:
Given a mass ‘m’ imparted with an accelerative force moving at the speed of light ‘c’, the amount of energy ‘E’ limited by the speed of light ‘c’ is given by this equation.
Note that in both sides of the equation, the speed of light is a limiting factor (!).
Wednesday, November 12th, 2008 (url)
Bob,
Thank you for that explanation; I am still chewing on it.
Incidentally, did you listen to the Einstein clip above?
He gives the explanation, in his own words.
Mark
Thursday, November 13th, 2008 (url)
Bob,
That is interesting!
I will need to read more into it, to fully understand it.
Why do we need a limiting factor?
Mark
Friday, November 14th, 2008 (url)
Mass:
http://www.hyperblogcafe.com/mass
Wednesday, December 3rd, 2008 (url)
I am a little disappointed to find that Einstein did have a small part in convincing The U.S. (F.D.R.) to begin researching the use of nuclear fission to create atomic bombs. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Einstein-Szilard_let…
The actual letter…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Einstein-Roose…
However, the letter warned that Nazi Germany may have done so already. Therefore, I do believe that his intentions were for the defense of our country.
It amazes me how we hear so much, these days, about enriching uranium for the use of nuclear weapons, however, this letter is one of the original theories suggesting that uranium may be converted into a great source of energy.
Here is FDR's reply; also, very interesting to read…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Roosevelt-eins…
Mark
Thursday, December 4th, 2008 (url)
Well, you have to remember that Einstein was fully aware that scientists working in Nazi Germany were already underway in attempting to 'split the atom' in order to build their own bomb (having skedaddled out of there recently but being acquainted with many of them). I think that the balance against was outweighed by the possibility of Germany succeeding and using this as a weapon themselves to win the war.
The reasons that the U.S. succeeded first were several:
1. During the war, concentrated efforts to destroy important parts of the process: heavy water plants, centrifuges, and transportation lines.
2. The German scientists hadn't solved the detonation process. On the other hand, the U.S. eventually worked out that a chain reaction spawned from a spherically imploding charge may convert most or all of the fissionable material. By the time the Germans probably found out about this breakthrough it was probably too late.
3. We poured ungodly amounts of money into the project ($2 billion in the money of that time).
So, this letter was a motivation to beat Nazi Germany and stem their use if successful. Later, after WWII, Einstein and a large group of scientists petitioned against continued development due to the results of Nagasaki/Hiroshima. Before then, no one knew about the radioactive fallout.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manhattan_Project
Friday, December 5th, 2008 (url)
Interesting!
Yes, I have seen quite a few shows on The Manhattan Project and Oppenheimer, however, I never realized that Einstein was pushing for the development of Atomic weapons.
I recall reading Einstein say, “If I had only known, I would have been a locksmith.”
So, you are saying that it was after the effects of radiation were truly realized, that is when he said, WTF! Then tried to stop proliferation of nuclear weapons?
Mark