Energy & Mass Equivalence
- Einstein showed in his theory of relativity that matter can be considered a form of energy and hence, he proposed:
- Mass can be converted into energy
- Energy can be converted into mass
- This is known as mass-energy equivalence, and can be summarised by the equation:
E = mc2
- Where:
- E = energy (J)
- m = mass (kg)
- c = the speed of light (m s-1)
- Some examples of mass-energy equivalence are:
- The fusion of hydrogen into helium in the centre of the sun
- The fission of uranium in nuclear power plants
- Nuclear weapons
- High-energy particle collisions in particle accelerators
