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Ask Ethan #78: Why does E=mc^2? (Synopsis) [Starts With A Bang]
“It followed from the special theory of relativity that mass and energy are both but different manifestations of the same thing — a somewhat unfamiliar conception for the average mind.” -Albert Einstein
On the one hand, we have matter — things with mass — in the Universe, ranging all the way from planets, stars and galaxies on the largest scales to molecules, atoms and fundamental particles on the smallest.
Image credit: Jenny Mottar.
But then, on the other hand, there are particles without mass at all: photons, for example. They still carry energy and momentum, but of all the possibilities, of all the ways that mass and energy could have been related, why is it that the relationship is E = mc^2, without any other constants or factors in there?
Image credit: NASA/Sonoma State University/Aurore Simonnet.
As it turns out, a thought experiment can explain it to us. Come find out on this week’s Ask Ethan!
Source: http://scienceblogs.com/startswithabang/2015/03/07/ask-ethan-78-why-does-emc2-synopsis/
