E=mc2 Articles

E=mc² Article Summaries
The evolution of the equation, E=mc² is an elaborate and complicated one at that. In “What Is the Significance of E=mc²? And What Does It Mean?”, the article explains the steps in which the equation took to get to the final step of E=mc². With the example of a hollow box remaining at rest in space, the equation is explained. First, the symmetrical mass distribution is considered as well photons being emitted from the fluorescing material coating the box, creating a very small movement of the box. Followed by Newton’s laws of mechanics, the reader is informed that the box was not aced upon by an outside force, “therefore the photon must have a mass, m” (“What Is the Significance of E=mc²? And What Does It Mean?”). Thus, the photon must possess energy from the fluorescing side of the box and the momentum “is equal to its energy divided by the speed of light.” (“What Is the Significance of E=mc²? And What Does It Mean?”). Then including velocity and the speed of light, the equation transforms several times before ending at Δxc/ D = E / cM which must be rearranged to result in ΔxM = ED / c² (4). Finally, once taking into account the box’s initial position, the center of mass, and equivalent mass of the photon, the equation is adjusted several times before ending at E=mc².
While the evolution of the equation itself is rather fascinating, the application and the legacy of it, exceeds it by far. As said by Peter Tyson’s, “The Legacy of E=mc²”, “the equation grew directly out of Einstein’s work on special relativity, which is a subset of what most consider his greatest achievement, the theory of general relativity.” The fundamental basics of the equation is that it “says that energy and mass (matter) are interchangeable; they are different forms of the same thing. Under the right conditions, energy can become mass, and vice versa.” (Tyson). Meaning, while humans have difficulty seeing the similarity between a a cup and a beam of light, Nature sees it as the same primarily because pure energy is electromagnetic radiation and electromagnetic radiation travels at a constant speed. “So the speed of light squared is the conversion factor that decides just how much energy lies captured within… any… chunk of matter.” (Tyson). The equation’s most far-reaching theory is that “it provides the key to understanding the most basic natural processes of the universe, from microscopic radioactivity to the Big Bang itself” (Tyson); while radioactivity relating to E=mc² is on a miniature scale, the Big Bang has a greater impact. However, E=mc² is used in numerous technologies today that most people are not even aware of. For example, PET scans and similar diagnostics used in hospitals, smoke detectors, exit signs, and radiocarbon dating are all appliances of the equation.  Another grand example of the use of E=mc² is the “integrations from radioactive elements such as plutonium provide everything from power for telecommunications satellites to the heat needed to keep the Mars rovers functioning during the frigid martian winter.” (Tyson). The range of use of the Einstein’s equation is so large that it ranges from Kinematics (the study of motion without reference to mass or force) to a neutrino detector in Antarctica to production of Nuclear energy. In fact, the mushroom cloud of an atomic bomb explosion is E=mc² made visible. As said in David Bodanis’ “E=mc²; a Biography of the World’s Most Famous Equation”, the bomb dropped over Hiroshima, Japan is all due to the equation. “Einstein’s formula also accounts for the heat in our planet’s crust, which is kept warm by a steady barrage of E=mc² conversions occurring within unstable radioactive elements such as uranium and thorium.” (Tyson). Similar to how Bodanis’ explained the sun and the stars in his novel, Tyson explains that the warmth felt by the sun is the result of the energy generated as hydrogen deep within the star continuously fusing to form helium. “When they exhaust their hydrogen, they begin to burn new fuels and create new elements, which are spewed out into the universe when the stars eventually explode.” (Tyson). And finally, on the largest scale of all, the beginning of the universe, E=mc² is the only accepted explanation for what was going on. “If it weren’t for E=mc², the universe would have ended up with a completely different collection of particles than we have now.” (Tyson). Tyson closes his article with mentioning that the equation’s influence, both scientific and sociological, are hard to separate from Einstein’s influence as a whole, which like E=mc², shows no sign of diminishing.
While the significance of the equation is very much known, viewpoints and opinions of the equation by physicist’s vary across the world. For example, Janet Conrad, experimental physicist from Columbia University believes it is the “very fundamental statement about the idea of what mass is, and that mass can be equivalent to energy. And we can actually convert mass into energy.” Conrad actually researches neutrinos and due to the equation, believes that a particle is a little packet of energy.”And so as far as a particle physicist is concerned, there’s still a particle there. It’s always going the speed of light. So for me there’s a lot more to the equation than E=mc². It matters a lot to my field.”, Conrad ends her final statement. Michio Kaku, theoretical physicist from City University of New York, has a different opinion of E=mc². Opening with “E=mc² is the secret of the stars”, Kaku says it is the cosmic engine that drives the entire universe, that it’s the reason the stars shine and why the sun lights up the Earth. Believing that matter and energy are the same thing and they can turn into each other, Kaku gives an abstract comparison of, “Even a rock can turn into a light ray if the rock happens to be uranium and the light ray is a burst of atomic radiation.”. With ranging opinions and idea of what the equation means and how relative it is, I find that the equation is the definition of everything. Everything occurs and happens and is created due to this equation. The importance of the equation is beyond the ideas of what it means or how much it matters, because it defines it all.

Works Cited
Bodanis, David. E=mc²: a Biography of the World's Most Famous Equation. New York: Walker, 2000. Print.
“PBS.” PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 3 Dec. 2015. <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/einstein/expe-text.html>
Tyson, Peter. “The Legacy Of E = mc2.” PBS. PBS, Nov. 2005. Web. 3 Dec. 2015. <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/physics/legacy-of-e-equals-mc2.html>

“What Is the Significance of E = Mc 2 ? And What Does It Mean?” Scientific American Global RSS. Web. 3 Dec. 2015. <http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/significance-e-mc-2-means/?responsive=false>

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