"When an object emits light, say, a flashlight, it gets lighter." - Sheldon Glashow
the most dangerous and famous equation in the world, e=mc^2
Albert Einstein in 1905 wrote a paper which held the holy grail of nuclear physics, the equation E=MC^2. At the simplest level, this means energy can become matter, and matter can become energy. The tiniest spec of matter potentially holds, HUGE amounts of energy. Unleashing this energy requires nuclear reactions, like the sought you see in the night sky to the millions of billions of stars and including the one you see during the day. Ever since ancient people looked up into the night sky, they would have asked, "What makes the stars shine?" It took Albert Einstein in 1905 to answer the question. Mass (M) turns into (E) Energy. That is the engine that lights up the stars.
How did he discover E=MC^2?
Albert Einstein used relativity to show that, as you approach light speed, bizarre, non intuitive distortions take place. Time beats slower, space contracts and you get heavier. The faster you move, the heavier you get. Now lets think about that for a moment. You get heavier by the energy in motion. M came from velocity (energy). He then imagined a flashlight, shooting out a light beam. He knew exactly how much energy came out of the flash light, but the flash light he showed, weighs less. The flash light weights less by emitting a beam of light. Therefore, the E of light, came from the M of the flash light and the ratio is C^2. And it is because of this, he wrote the famous equation, E=MC^2.
Is this equation important to us today?
Simply, Yes, yes it is. E=MC^2 is the most basic equation of nuclear physics. It, for example, is used to calculate the amount of energy produced by the fuel in a nuclear power station, or the amount of energy potentially released in a hydrogen bomb. It is also important in the astrophysical models of stars, where energy is provided by nuclear fusion. The equation is also used a lot in particle physics to calculate the masses of particles produced and to calculate the energy needed to produce particular particles. A prime example of this would be, physicists working in CERN, Geneva, Switzerland, that are in charge of smashing protons together in hope of discovering and answering secrets that physics holds at a subatomic level.
How did he discover E=MC^2?
Albert Einstein used relativity to show that, as you approach light speed, bizarre, non intuitive distortions take place. Time beats slower, space contracts and you get heavier. The faster you move, the heavier you get. Now lets think about that for a moment. You get heavier by the energy in motion. M came from velocity (energy). He then imagined a flashlight, shooting out a light beam. He knew exactly how much energy came out of the flash light, but the flash light he showed, weighs less. The flash light weights less by emitting a beam of light. Therefore, the E of light, came from the M of the flash light and the ratio is C^2. And it is because of this, he wrote the famous equation, E=MC^2.
Is this equation important to us today?
Simply, Yes, yes it is. E=MC^2 is the most basic equation of nuclear physics. It, for example, is used to calculate the amount of energy produced by the fuel in a nuclear power station, or the amount of energy potentially released in a hydrogen bomb. It is also important in the astrophysical models of stars, where energy is provided by nuclear fusion. The equation is also used a lot in particle physics to calculate the masses of particles produced and to calculate the energy needed to produce particular particles. A prime example of this would be, physicists working in CERN, Geneva, Switzerland, that are in charge of smashing protons together in hope of discovering and answering secrets that physics holds at a subatomic level.