Mass–energy equivalence
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{{for2|other uses|[[E=MC2 (disambiguation)]]}}
[[Image:Relativity3 Walk of Ideas Berlin.JPG|400px|right|thumb|3-meter-tall sculpture of [[Albert Einstein|Einstein]]'s 1905 ''E'' = ''mc''<sup>2</sup> formula at the 2006 [[Walk of Ideas]], [[Germany]]]]
In [[physics]], '''mass–energy equivalence''' is the concept that any [[mass]] has an associated [[energy]] and ''vice versa''. In [[special relativity]] this relationship is expressed using the mass–energy equivalence formula
::<math> E = mc^2\,</math>
where
:* ''E'' = [[energy]],
:* ''m'' = [[mass]],
:* ''c'' = the [[speed of light]] in a vacuum (''[[celeritas]]''),
:* and the superscript 2 indicates the [[square (algebra)|squaring]] of the ''c''.
Two definitions of [[mass in special relativity]] may be validly used with this formula. If the mass in the formula is the [[invariant mass|rest mass]], the energy in the formula is called the [[rest energy]]. If the mass is the [[mass in special relativity|relativistic mass]], then the energy is the [[total energy]].
The formula was derived by [[Albert Einstein]], who arrived at it in 1905 in the paper "''Does the inertia of a body depend upon its energy-content?''", one of his [[Annus Mirabilis Papers|Annus Mirabilis]] ("Wonderful Year") Papers.<ref name=inertia>{{Citation | author=Einstein, A. | year=1905 | title=Ist die Trägheit eines Körpers von seinem Energieinhalt abhängig? | journal=Annalen der Physik | volume=18 | pages=639–643 | doi=10.1002/andp.19053231314 |url=http://www.physik.uni-augsburg.de/annalen/history/papers/1905_18_639-641.pdf}}. See also the [http://www.fourmilab.ch/etexts/einstein/E_mc2/www/ English translation.]</ref> While Einstein was not the first to propose a mass–energy relationship, and various similar formulas appeared before Einstein's theory, Einstein was the first to propose that the equivalence of mass and energy is a general principle, which is a consequence of the symmetries of space and time.
In the formula, ''c''<sup>2</sup> is the [[conversion factor]] required to convert from [[:Category:Units of mass|units of mass]] to [[:Category:Units of energy|units of energy]]. The formula does not depend on a specific [[Systems of measurement|system of units]]. In the [[International System of Units]], the unit for energy is the [[joule]], for mass the [[kilogram]], and for speed [[metre per second|meters per second]]. Note that 1 joule equals 1 [[kilogram|kg]]·[[metre|m]]<sup>2</sup>/[[second|s]]<sup>2</sup>. In unit-specific terms, ''E'' (in [[joules]]) = ''m'' (in [[kilograms]]) multiplied by ([[speed of light|299,792,458]] [[m/s]])<sup>2</sup>.
==Conservation of mass and energy==
The concept of mass–energy equivalence unites the concepts of [[conservation of mass]] and [[conservation of energy]], allowing [[rest mass]] to be converted to forms of active energy (such as [[kinetic energy]], heat, or light) while still retaining mass. Conversely, active energy in the form of kinetic energy or radiation can be converted to particles which have [[rest mass]]. The total amount of mass/energy in a closed system (as seen by a single observer) remains constant because energy cannot be created or destroyed and, in all of its forms, trapped energy exhibits mass. In relativity, mass and energy are two forms of the same thing, and neither one appears without the other.
===Fast-moving object===
If a force is applied to an object in the direction of motion, the object gains momentum. It also gains energy because the force is doing work. But an object cannot be accelerated to the [[speed of light]], regardless of how much energy it absorbs. Its momentum and energy continue to increase, but its speed approaches a constant value--- the speed of light. This means that in relativity the momentum of an object cannot be a constant times the velocity, nor is the [[Kinetic energy#Kinetic energy of rigid bodies|kinetic energy]] given by ½''mv''<sup>2</sup>.
The [[relativistic mass]] is defined as the ratio of the momentum of an object to its velocity, and it depends on the motion of the object relative to the observer. If the object is moving slowly, the relativistic mass is nearly equal to the [[rest mass]] and both are equal to the usual Newtonian mass. If the object is moving quickly, the relativistic mass is bigger than the rest mass. As the object approaches the speed of light, the relativistic mass becomes infinite. When a force acts in the direction of motion, the relativistic mass goes up and the momentum goes up, but the speed hardly increases.
The relativistic mass is always equal to the total energy divided by ''c''<sup>2</sup>. The difference between the relativistic mass and the rest mass is the relativistic kinetic energy (divided by ''c''<sup>2</sup>). Because the relativistic mass is exactly proportional to the energy, relativistic mass and relativistic energy are nearly synonyms; the only difference between them is the units. If length and time are measured in [[natural units]], the speed of light is equal to 1, and even this difference disappears. Then mass and energy have the same units and are always equal, so it is redundant to speak about relativistic mass, because it is just another name for the energy.
For this reason, in relativity people almost always reserve the useful short word "mass" to mean the [[rest mass]]. The rest mass of an object is the relativistic mass as measured when moving along with the object. By definition, rest mass is the same in all [[inertial frame]]s. For a system of particles going off in different directions, the [[invariant mass]] is the analog of the rest mass, and it is defined as the total energy (divided by c<sup>2</sup>) in the [[center of mass frame]].
For a system made up of many parts, linked in ([[atomic nucleus|nucleus]], atom, common object, [[planet]], [[star]], …), the relativistic mass is the sum of the relativistic masses of the parts, because the energy adds up.
==Meanings of the mass–energy equivalence formula==
[[Image:E equals m plus c square at Taipei101.jpg|thumb|left|The mass–energy equivalence formula was displayed on [[Taipei 101]] during the event of the [[World Year of Physics 2005]].]]
Mass–energy equivalence says that when a body has a mass, it has a certain energy, even when it isn't moving. In [[Newtonian mechanics]], a massive body at rest has no [[kinetic energy]], and it may or may not have other (relatively small) amounts of internal stored energy such as [[chemical energy]] or [[thermal energy]], in addition to any [[potential energy]] it may have from its position in a [[field (physics)|field of force]]. In Newtonian mechanics, none of these energies contributes to the mass.
In relativity, all the energy which moves along with a body adds up to the total energy of the body, which is proportional to the relativistic mass. Even a single [[photon]] traveling in empty space has a relativistic mass, which is its energy divided by ''c''<sup>2</sup>. If a box of mirrors contains light, the mass of the box is increased by the energy of the light, since the total energy of the box is its mass.
Although a photon is never "at rest", it still has a rest mass, which is zero. If an observer chases a photon faster and faster, the observed energy of the photon [[redshift|approaches zero]] as the observer approaches the speed of light. This is why photons are ''massless''. They have zero [[rest mass]] even though they have varying amounts of energy and [[relativistic mass]]. But, systems of two or more photons moving in different directions (as for example from an electron–positron annihilation) may have zero [[momentum]] over all. Their energy E then adds up to an [[invariant mass]] ''m'' = ''E''/''c''<sup>2</sup>, when they are considered as a system.
This formula also gives the amount of mass lost from a body when energy is removed. In a chemical or nuclear reaction, when heat and light are removed, the mass is decreased. So the ''E'' in the formula is the energy released or removed, corresponding to a mass ''m'' which is lost. In those cases, the energy released and removed is equal in quantity to the mass lost, times ''c''<sup>2</sup>. Similarly, when energy of any kind is added to a resting body, the increase in the mass is equal to the energy added, divided by ''c''<sup>2</sup>.
The rest mass of a system, however, is not the sum of the rest masses of its parts taken one-by-one, free from the system<ref>It's an usual result in [[special relativity]], like with an [[atomic nucleus]] and its protons and neutrons which it's constituted by.</ref>. The difference between the rest mass of the system and the rest masses of the (free) parts is the [[binding energy]], which has been emitted in the formation of the system. <br>
But the rest mass of a system is always the sum of the relativistic masses of its parts, in the [[COM frame|frame]] where the system as a whole is at rest. Because the inertia (the relativistic mass) of a system (linked or free) is always the sum of all the inertias (all the relativistic masses) of its parts ; and the rest mass of a object could be seen as the particular value of its relativistic mass, when it's at rest.
==Consequences for nuclear physics==
[[Max Planck]] pointed out that the mass–energy equivalence formula implied that bound systems would have a mass less than the sum of their constituents, once the binding energy had been allowed to escape. However, Planck was thinking about chemical reactions, where the binding energy is too small to measure. Einstein suggested that radioactive materials such as radium would provide a test of the theory, but even though a large amount of energy is released per atom, only a small fraction of the atoms decay.
Once the nucleus was discovered, experimenters realized that the very high binding energies of the atomic nuclei should allow calculation of their binding energies from mass differences. But it was not until the discovery of the [[neutron]] in 1932, and the measurement of its mass, that this calculation could actually be performed (see [[nuclear binding energy]] for example calculation). A little while later, the first [[Nuclear transmutation|transmutation]] reactions (such as <math> \scriptstyle {}^7\mathrm{Li} + \mathrm{p} \rightarrow 2\,{}^4\mathrm{He}</math>) verified Einstein's formula to an accuracy of 1%.
The mass–energy equivalence formula was used in the development of the [[atomic bomb]]. By measuring the mass of different [[atomic nuclei]] and subtracting from that number the total mass of the [[protons]] and [[neutrons]] as they would weigh separately, one gets the exact [[binding energy]] available in an [[atomic nucleus]]. This is used to calculate the energy released in any [[nuclear reaction]], as the difference of the binding energies of the nuclei that enter and exit the reaction.
== Practical examples ==
Einstein used the [[Centimeter gram second system of units|CGS]] system of units (centimeters, grams, seconds, dynes, and ergs), but the formula is independent of the system of units. In [[natural units]], the speed of light is defined to equal 1, and the formula expresses an identity: ''E'' = ''m''. In the [[International System of Units|SI]] system (expressing the ratio ''E'' / ''m'' in [[joules]] per kilogram using the value of ''c'' in [[metre per second|meters per second]]):
:''E'' / ''m'' = ''c''<sup>2</sup> = (299,792,458 m/s)<sup>2</sup> = 89,875,517,873,681,764 J/kg (≈9.0 × 10<sup>16</sup> joules per kilogram)
So one [[gram]] of mass — approximately the mass of a [[United States dollar|U.S. dollar bill]] — is equivalent to the following amounts of energy:
:89.9 [[joules|terajoules]]
:24.9 million [[kilowatt-hour]]s (≈25 [[GW·h]])
:21.5 billion [[calorie|kilocalories]] (≈21 Tcal)<sup><font size="-1"> </font></sup><ref name="Conversion">Conversions used: 1956 International (Steam) Table (IT) values where one calorie ≡ 4.1868 J and one BTU ≡ 1055.05585262 J. Weapons designers’ conversion value of one gram TNT ≡ 1000 calories used.<sup><font size="-1"> </font></sup></ref>
:21.5 [[kiloton]]s of [[Trinitrotoluene|TNT]]-equivalent energy (≈21 kt)<sup><font size="-1"> </font></sup><ref name="Conversion"/>
:85.2 billion [[British thermal unit|BTUs]] <ref name="Conversion"/>
Any time energy is generated, the process can be evaluated from an ''E'' = ''mc''<sup>2</sup> perspective. For instance, the "[[Fat Man|Gadget]]"-style bomb used in the [[Trinity test]] and the [[Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki|bombing of Nagasaki]] had an explosive yield equivalent to 21 kt of TNT. About 1 kg of the approximately 6.15 kg of plutonium in each of these bombs fissioned into lighter elements totaling almost exactly one gram less, after cooling (the heat, light and radiation in this case carried the missing gram of mass).<ref>The 6.2 kg core comprised 0.8% gallium by weight. Also, about 20% of the Gadget’s yield was due to fast fissioning in its natural uranium tamper. This resulted in 4.1 moles of Pu fissioning with 180 MeV per atom actually contributing prompt kinetic energy to the explosion. Note too that the term ''"Gadget"-style'' is used here instead of "Fat Man" because this general design of bomb was very rapidly upgraded to a more efficient one requiring only 5 kg of the Pu/gallium alloy.</ref> This occurs because nuclear [[binding energy]] is released whenever elements with more than 62 nucleons fission.
Another example is [[Hydroelectricity|hydroelectric generation]]. The electrical energy produced by [[Grand Coulee Dam|Grand Coulee Dam’s]] [[Water turbine|turbines]] every 3.7 hours represents one gram of mass. This mass passes to the electrical devices which are powered by the generators (such as lights in cities), where it appears as a gram of heat and light.<ref>Assuming the dam is generating at its peak capacity of 6,809 MW.</ref> Turbine designers look at their equations in terms of pressure, torque, and RPM. However, Einstein’s equations show that all energy has mass, and thus the electrical energy produced by a dam's generators, and the heat and light which result from it, all retain their mass, which is equivalent to the energy. The potential energy – and equivalent mass – represented by the waters of the [[Columbia River]] as it descends to the Pacific Ocean would be converted to heat due to [[Viscosity|viscous friction]] and the [[turbulence]] of white water rapids and waterfalls were it not for the dam and its generators. This heat would remain as mass on site at the water, were it not for the equipment which converted some of this potential and kinetic energy into electrical energy, which can be moved from place to place (taking mass with it).
Whenever energy is added to a system, the system gains mass. A spring's mass increases whenever it is put into compression or tension. Its added mass arises from the added potential energy stored within it, which is bound in the stretched chemical (electron) bonds linking the atoms within the spring. Raising the temperature of an object (increasing its heat energy) increases its mass. If the temperature of the platinum/iridium "international prototype" of the [[kilogram]] — the world’s primary mass standard — is allowed to change by 1°C, its mass will change by 1.5 picograms (1 pg = 1 × 10<sup>–12</sup> g).<ref>Assuming a 90/10 alloy of Pt/Ir by weight, a ''C<sub>p</sub>'' of 25.9 for Pt and 25.1 for Ir, a Pt-dominated average ''C<sub>p</sub>'' of 25.8, 5.134 moles of metal, and 132 J.K<sup>–1</sup> for the prototype. A variation of ±1.5 picograms is of course, much smaller than the actual uncertainty in the mass of the international prototype, which is ±2 micrograms.</ref> <br>
Note that no net mass or energy is really created or lost in any of these scenarios. Mass/energy simply moves from one place to another. These are some examples of the ''transfer'' of energy and mass in accordance with the ''principle of mass–energy conservation.''
Note further that in accordance with Einstein’s Strong Equivalence Principle (SEP), all forms of mass <u>and energy</u> produce a gravitational field in the same way.<ref name="apollo">Earth’s gravitational self-energy is 4.6 × 10<sup>–10</sup> that of Earth’s total mass, or 2.7 trillion metric tons. Citation: ''The Apache Point Observatory Lunar Laser-Ranging Operation (APOLLO)'', T. W. Murphy, Jr. ''et al.'' University of Washington, Dept. of Physics ([http://physics.ucsd.edu/~tmurphy/apollo/doc/matera.pdf 132 kB PDF, here.]).</ref> So all radiated and transmitted energy ''retains'' its mass. Not only does the matter comprising Earth create gravity, but the gravitational field itself has mass, and that mass contributes to the field too. This effect is accounted for in ultra-precise laser ranging to the Moon as the Earth orbits the Sun when testing Einstein’s [[General relativity|theory of general relativity]].<ref name="apollo"/> <br>
According to ''E''=''mc''<sup>2</sup>, no ''closed'' system (any system treated and observed as a whole) ever loses mass, even when rest mass is converted to energy. This statement is more than an abstraction based on the principle of equivalence, it is a real-world effect.
Potential energy also has mass, but where this mass sits is sometimes difficult to determine. The concept of potential energy is Newtonian, it is defined for the system as a whole. The mass-energy relation together with the law of gravity requires that the potential energy be somewhere, so that its mass can produce a gravitational field. So in relativity, the potential energy always comes from a local [[field (physics)|field]], and it is found wherever the field is varying or has a value which carries energy. Gravitational experiments can locate the field energy, and therefore the potential energy, in principle. <br>
The one exception is the gravitational field itself. Because the gravitational field can be made to vanish locally by choosing a free-falling frame, it is difficult to locate gravitational energy in an observer independent way. Still, it is possible to define the location of the gravitational energy consistently in several different ways, all of which agree on the total energy. The field energy in the Newtonian limit is the potential energy of a system.
[[Image:TaskForce One.jpg|thumb|''[[USS Enterprise (CVN-65)|USS Enterprise]]'', ''[[USS Long Beach (CGN-9)|Long Beach]]'' and ''[[USS Bainbridge (CGN-25)|Bainbridge]]'' in formation in the [[Mediterranean]], [[18 June]] [[1964]]. ''Enterprise'' crewmembers spelled out the mass–energy equivalence formula on the flight deck to commemorate the first all-nuclear battle formation.]]
Although all mass, including that in ordinary objects, is energy, this energy is not always in a form which can be used to generate power. All energy, both usable and unusable, has mass, so when people say that certain reactions "convert" mass into "energy", they mean that the mass is converted into ''specific types'' of energy, which can be used to do work, which is sometimes called the "active energy". Practical "conversions" of mass into active energy never make all of the mass into the sort of energy which can be used to do work. <br>
For example, in nuclear fission roughly 0.1% of the mass of fissioned atoms is converted to heat energy and radiation. In turn, the mass of fissioned atoms is only part of the mass of the fissionable material: e.g. in a nuclear fission weapon, the [[Nuclear weapon design#Efficiency|efficiency]] is 40% at most, meaning that 40% of fissionable atoms actually fission. In nuclear fusion roughly 0.3% of the mass of fused atoms is converted to active energy. In thermonuclear weapons (see [[nuclear weapon yield]]) some of the bomb mass is casing and non-reacting components, so the efficiency in converting passive energy to active energy, at 6 kilotons TNT equivalent energy output per kilogram of bomb mass (or 6 megatons per metric ton bomb mass), does not exceed 0.03%.
== Perfect conversion ==
One theoretically perfect method of conversion of the rest mass of matter to usable energy is the annihilation of matter with [[antimatter]]. In this process, all the mass energy is released as light and heat. However, in our universe, antimatter is rare. To make antimatter requires more energy than would be liberated.
Since most of the mass of ordinary objects is in protons and neutrons, in order to convert all of the mass in ordinary matter to useful energy, the protons and neutrons must be converted to lighter particles. In the [[standard model|standard model of particle physics]], the number of protons plus neutrons is nearly exactly [[baryon number|conserved]] in all reactions at moderate energies. Nevertheless, [[Gerardus 't Hooft]] showed<ref>G. 't Hooft, "Computation of the Effects Due to a Four Dimensional Pseudoparticle.", Physical Review D14:3432-3450.</ref> that there is a process which will convert protons and neutrons to antielectrons and neutrinos. This is the weak SU(2) [[instanton]] discovered by Belavin Polyakov Schwarz and Tyupkin.<ref>A. Belavin, A. M. Polyakov, A. Schwarz, Yu. Tyupkin, "Pseudoparticle Solutions to Yang Mills Equations", Physics Letters 59B:85 (1975).</ref> This process is capable of complete conversion of the mass of matter to usable energy, but it is extraordinarily slow at ordinary energies. Later it became clear that this process will happen at a fast rate at very high temperatures,<ref>F. Klinkhammer, N. Manton, "A Saddle Point Solution in the Weinberg Salam Theory", Physical Review D 30:2212.</ref> since then instanton-like configurations will be copiously produced from [[statistical mechanics|thermal fluctuations]]. The temperature required is so high that it would only have been reached shortly after the [[big bang]].
All conservative extensions of the standard model contain [[magnetic]] [[monopoles]], and in the usual models of [[grand unification theory|grand unification]], these monopoles catalyze proton decay, a process known as the Callan-Rubakov effect.<ref>Rubakov V. A. "Monopole Catalysis of Proton Decay", Reports on Progress in Physics 51:189-241 (1988).</ref> This process would be an efficient mass-energy conversion at ordinary temperatures, but it requires making [[monopoles]] and [[antimonopoles]] first. The energy required to produce monopoles is enormous, but they are [[stable]] so they only need to be produced once.
The third known method of total mass/energy conversion is using gravity, specifically black holes. [[Stephen Hawking]] showed<ref>S.W. Hawking "Black Holes Explosions?" Nature 248:30 (1974).</ref> that black holes radiate thermally. It is therefore possible to throw matter into a small black hole and use the radiation to power a plant. Unfortunately, this is also impractical for the time being.
==Background==
''E'' = ''mc''<sup>2</sup> where ''m'' stands for [[rest mass]] ([[invariant mass]]), applies most simply to single particles with no net [[momentum]]. But it also applies to ordinary objects composed of many particles so long as the particles are moving in different directions so the total momentum is zero. The rest mass of the object includes contributions from heat and sound, chemical binding energies and trapped radiation. Familiar examples are a tank of gas, or a hot bowl of soup. The kinetic energy of their particles, the heat motion and radiation, contribute to their weight on a scale according to ''E'' = ''mc''<sup>2</sup>.
The formula is the special case of the relativistic energy-momentum relationship:
::<math>\,
E^2 - (pc)^2 = (m c^2)^2\,
</math>
This equation gives the rest mass of an object which has an arbitrary amount of momentum and energy. The interpretation of this equation is that the rest mass is the relativistic length of the energy-momentum [[four-vector]].
If the equation <math>E=mc^2</math> is used with the [[rest mass]] of the object, the <math>E</math> given by the equation will be the [[rest energy]] of the object, and will change with according to the object's internal energy, heat and sound and chemical binding energies, but will not change with the object's overall motion).
If the equation <math>E=mc^2</math> is used with the [[relativistic mass]] of the object, the energy will be the total energy of the object, which is conserved in collisions with other moving objects.
; Mass Velocity Relationship
In developing [[special relativity]], Einstein found that the kinetic energy of a moving body is
::<math>KE = \frac{m_0 c^2}\sqrt{1-\frac{v^2}{c^2}} - m_0 c^2,</math>
with <math>v</math> the [[velocity]], and <math>m_0</math> the rest mass.
He included the second term to make sure that for small velocities, the energy would be the same as in classical mechanics:
::<math>KE = \frac{1}{2}m_0 v^2 + ... </math>
Without this second term, there would be an additional contribution in the energy when the particle is not moving.
Einstein found that the total momentum of a moving particle is:
::<math>P = \frac{m_0 v}\sqrt{1-\frac{v^2}{c^2}}. </math>
and it is this quantity which is conserved in collisions. The ratio of the momentum to the velocity is the [[relativistic mass]], m.
::<math>m = \frac{m_0}{\sqrt{1-\frac{v^2}{c^2}}}</math>
And the relativistic mass and the relativistic kinetic energy are related by the formula:
::<math>KE = m c^2 - m_0 c^2 \,</math>
Einstein wanted to omit the unnatural second term, whose only purpose is to make the energy at rest zero, and to declare that the particle has a total energy which obeys:
::<math> E = m c^2 \,</math>
which is a sum of the rest energy <math>m_0 c^2</math> and the kinetic energy. This total energy is mathematically more elegant, and fits better with the momentum in relativity. But to come to this conclusion, Einstein needed to think carefully about collisions. This expression for the energy implied that matter at rest has a huge amount of energy, and it is not clear whether this energy is physically real, or just a mathematical artifact with no physical meaning.
In a collision process where all the rest-masses are the same at the beginning as at the end, either expression for the energy is conserved. The two expressions only differ by a constant which is the same at the beginning and at the end of the collision. Still, by analyzing the situation where particles are thrown off a heavy central particle, it is easy to see that the inertia of the central particle is reduced by the total energy emitted. This allowed Einstein to conclude that the inertia of a heavy particle is increased or diminished according to the energy it absorbs or emits.
===Relativistic mass===
{{main|mass in special relativity}}
After Einstein first made his proposal, it became clear that the word mass can have two different meanings. The rest mass is what Einstein called ''m'', but others defined the ''relativistic mass'' as:
::<math>m_{\mathrm{rel}} = \frac{m_0}{\sqrt{1-\frac{v^2}{c^2}}} . </math>
This mass is the ratio of momentum to velocity, and it is also the relativistic energy divided by ''c''<sup>2</sup>. So the equation ''E'' = ''m''<sub>rel</sub>''c''<sup>2</sup> holds for moving objects. When the velocity is small, the relativistic mass and the rest mass are almost exactly the same.
''E'' = ''mc''<sup>2</sup> either means ''E'' = ''m''<sub>0</sub>''c''<sup>2</sup> for an object at rest, or ''E'' = ''m''<sub>rel</sub>''c''<sup>2</sup> when the object is moving.
Also Einstein (following [[Hendrik Lorentz]] and [[Max Abraham]]) used velocity and direction dependent mass concepts ([[Mass in special relativity#Early developments|longitudinal and transverse mass]]) in his 1905 electrodynamics paper and in another paper in 1906.<ref>{{Citation | author=Einstein, A. | year=1905 | title=Zur Elektrodynamik bewegter Körper. | journal=Annalen der Physik | volume=17 | pages=891–921 | doi=10.1002/andp.19053221004 |url=http://www.physik.uni-augsburg.de/annalen/history/papers/1905_17_891-921.pdf}}. [http://www.fourmilab.ch/etexts/einstein/specrel/www/ English translation.]</ref>
<ref>{{Citation | author=Einstein, A. | year=1906 | title=Über eine Methode zur Bestimmung des Verhältnisses der transversalen und longitudinalen Masse des Elektrons. | journal=Annalen der Physik | volume=21 | pages=583–586 | doi=10.1002/andp.19063261310| url=http://www.physik.uni-augsburg.de/annalen/history/papers/1906_21_583-586.pdf}}.</ref>
However, in his first paper on ''E'' = ''mc''<sup>2</sup> (1905) he treated ''m'' as what would now be called the ''rest mass''.<ref name=inertia /> Some claim that (in later years) he did not like the idea of "relativistic mass."{{Fact|date=June 2008}} When modern physicists say "mass", they are usually talking about rest mass, since if they meant "relativistic mass", they would just say "energy".
=== Low-speed Expansion ===
We can rewrite the expression for the energy as a [[Taylor series]]:
::<math>E = m_0 c^2 \left[1 + \frac{1}{2} \left(\frac{v}{c}\right)^2 + \frac{3}{8} \left(\frac{v}{c}\right)^4 + \frac{5}{16} \left(\frac{v}{c}\right)^6 + \ldots \right]. </math>
For speeds much smaller than the speed of light, higher-order terms in this expression get smaller and smaller because <math>v/c</math> is small. For low speeds we can ignore all but the first two terms:
::<math>E \approx m_0 c^2 + \frac{1}{2} m_0 v^2 . </math>
The total energy is a sum of the rest energy and the [[classical mechanics|Newtonian]] [[kinetic energy]].
The classical energy equation ignores both the <math>m_0 c^2</math> part, and the high-speed corrections. This is appropriate, because all the high order corrections are small. Since only ''changes'' in energy affect the behavior of objects, whether we include the <math>m_0 c^2</math> part makes no difference, since it is constant. For the same reason, it is possible to subtract the rest energy from the total energy in relativity. By considering the emission of energy in different frames, Einstein could show that the rest energy has a real physical meaning.
The higher-order terms are extra correction to Newtonian mechanics which become important at higher speeds. The Newtonian equation is only a low speed approximation, but an extraordinarily good one. All of the calculations used in putting astronauts on the moon, for example, could have been done using Newton's equations without any of the higher order corrections.
==History==
While Einstein was the first to have correctly deduced the mass–energy equivalence formula, he was not the first to have related energy with mass. But nearly all previous authors thought that the energy which contributes to mass comes only from electromagnetic fields.<ref>{{Citation | author=Born, M. | title=Die Relativitätstheorie Einsteins | place=Berlin-Heidelberg-New York | pages=172–194 | publisher=Springer | year =1964/2003 | isbn=3-540-00470-x}}.</ref>
<ref>{{Citation | author=Jannsen, M., Mecklenburg, M. | year=2007 | contribution=From classical to relativistic mechanics: Electromagnetic models of the electron. | editor=V. F. Hendricks, et.al.| journal=Interactions: Mathematics, Physics and Philosophy | pages=65–134 | place=Dordrecht | publisher=Springer | url =http://www.tc.umn.edu/~janss011/ }}.</ref>
<ref>{{Citation | author=Whittaker, E.T. | year=1910 | title= 1. Edition: A History of the theories of aether and electricity. | place=Dublin | publisher=Longman, Green and Co. | pages =411–466| url=http://www.archive.org/details/historyoftheorie00whitrich}}.</ref>
<ref>{{Citation | author=Whittaker, E.T. | year=1951-1953 | title= 2. Edition: A History of the theories of aether and electricity, vol. 1: The classical theories / vol. 2: The modern theories 1900-1926 | place=London | publisher=Nelson}}.</ref>
===Newton: Matter and light===
In 1717 [[Isaac Newton]] speculated that light particles and matter particles were inter-convertible in "Query 30" of the ''[[Opticks]]'', where he asks:
{{cquote|Are not the gross bodies and light convertible into one another, and may not bodies receive much of their activity from the particles of light which enter their composition?}}
Since Newton did not understand light as the motion of a field, he was not speculating about the conversion of motion into matter. Since he did not know about energy, he could not have understood that converting light to matter is turning work into mass.
===Electromagnetic rest mass ===
There were many attempts in the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century - like those of [[J. J. Thomson]] (1881),<ref>{{Citation | author=Thomson, J.J. | year=1881 | title=On the Effects produced by the Motion of Electrified Bodies | journal=Phil. Mag. | volume=11 | pages =229}}.</ref>;
[[Oliver Heaviside]] (1888),<ref>{{Citation | author=Heaviside, O. | year=1888 | title=The electro-magnetic effects of a moving charge | journal=Electrician | volume=22 | pages=147–148}}.</ref>
[[George Frederick Charles Searle]] (1896),<ref>{{Citation | author=Searle, G.F.C.| year=1896 | title=Problems in electric convection. | journal=Phil. Trans. Roy. Soc. | volume=187 | pages=675–718 | doi=10.1098/rsta.1896.0017| url=http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k559925/f724.table}}.</ref> - to understand how the mass of a charged object varied with the velocity. Because the electromagnetic field carries part of the momentum of a moving charge, it was suspected that the mass of an electron would vary with velocity near the speed of light.
Following Searle (1896), [[Wilhelm Wien]] (1900),<ref>{{Citation | author=Wien, W. | year=1900/1901 | title=Über die Möglichkeit einer elektromagnetischen Begründung der Mechanik. | journal=Annalen der Physik | volume=5 | pages=501–513|url=http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k153157/f560.chemindefer}}.</ref>
[[Max Abraham]] (1902),<ref>{{Citation | author=Abraham, M. | year=1902 | title=Prinzipien der Dynamik des Elektrons. | journal=Physikalische Zeitschrift | volume =4 | issue=1b | pages =57–62|url=http://www.soso.ch/wissen/hist/SRT/A-1902.pdf}}.</ref>
and [[Hendrik Lorentz]] (1904)<ref>{{Citation | author=Lorentz, H.A. | year=1904b | title=Electromagnetic phenomena in a system moving with any velocity smaller than that of light. | journal=Proc. Roy. Soc. Amst. | volume=6 | pages=809–831| url=http://www.historyofscience.nl/search/detail.cfm?pubid=615&view=image&startrow=1}}.</ref>
concluded that the velocity dependent electromagnetic mass of a body at rest is <math>m=(4/3)E/c^2</math>. According to them, this relation applies to the complete mass of bodies, because any form of inertial mass was considered to be of electromagnetic origin. Wien went on by stating, that if it is assumed that gravitation is an electromagnetic effect too, than there has to be a strict proportionality between (electromagnetic) inertial mass and (electromagnetic) gravitational mass. To explain the stability of the matter-electron configuration, Poincaré in 1906 introduced some sort of pressure of non-electrical nature, which contributes the amount <math>-(1/3)E/c^2</math> to the mass of the bodies, and therefore the 4/3-factor vanishes.<ref>{{Citation | author=Poincaré, H. | year=1906 | title=Sur la dynamique de l'électron | journal=Rendiconti del Circolo matematico Rendiconti del Circolo di Palermo | volume =21 | pages =129–176| url=http://www.soso.ch/wissen/hist/SRT/P-1905.pdf}} Reprinted in Poincaré, Oeuvres, tome IX, pages 494-550. See also the partial [http://www.univ-nancy2.fr/poincare/bhp/ English translation.]</ref>
===Inertia of energy and radiation===
;Maxwell, Bartoli, Lorentz
[[James Clerk Maxwell]] (1874)<ref>{{Citation | author=Maxwell, J.C | year=1873 | title=A Treatise on electricity and magnetism, Vol. 2., § 792 | pages=391 | publisher=Macmillan & Co.| place=London| url=http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k95176j}}.</ref>
and [[Adolfo Bartoli]] (1876)<ref>{{Citation | author=Bartoli, A. | year=1876 | title=Il calorico raggiante e il secondo principio di termodynamica. | journal=Nuovo Cimento (1884) | volume =15 | pages =196–202| url=http://fisicavolta.unipv.it/percorsi/pdf/press.pdf}}.</ref>
found out that the existence of tensions in the ether like the [[radiation pressure]] follows from the electromagnetic theory. <br>
However, Lorentz (1895)<ref>{{Citation | author=Lorentz, H.A. | year=1895 | title=Versuch einer theorie der electrischen und optischen erscheinungen in bewegten Kõrpern. | place=Leiden | publisher=E.J. Brill| http://www.historyofscience.nl/search/detail.cfm?pubid=2690&view=image&startrow=1}}.</ref> recognized that this led to a conflict between the [[Newton’s laws of motion|action/reaction principle]] and [[Lorentz ether theory|Lorentz's ether theory]].
;Poincaré
In 1900 [[Henri Poincaré]] studied this conflict and tried to determine whether the [[center of gravity]] still moves with a uniform velocity when electromagnetic fields are included. He noticed that the action/reaction principle does not hold for matter alone, but that the electromagnetic field has its own momentum. The electromagnetic field energy behaves like a fictitious [[fluid]] ("fluide fictif") with a mass density of <math>E/c^2</math> (in other words ''m'' = ''E''/''c''<sup>2</sup>). If the [[center of mass frame]] is defined by both the mass of matter ''and'' the mass of the fictitious fluid, and if the fictitious fluid is indestructible - it is neither created or destroyed - then the motion of the center of mass frame remains uniform. But electromagnetic energy can be converted into other forms of energy. So Poincaré assumed that there exists a non-electric energy fluid at each point of space, into which electromagnetic energy can be transformed and which also carries a mass proportional to the energy. In this way, the motion of the center of mass remains uniform. Poincaré said that one should not be too surprised by these assumptions, since they are only mathematical fictions.<ref>{{Citation | author=Poincaré, H. | year=1900 | title=La théorie de Lorentz et le principe de réaction. | journal=Archives néerlandaises des sciences exactes et naturelles. | volume=5 | pages=252–278| url=http://www.soso.ch/wissen/hist/SRT/P-1900.pdf}}. Reprinted in Poincaré, Oeuvres, tome IX, S. 464-488.</ref>
But Poincaré's resolution led to a paradox when changing frames: if a Hertzian oscillator radiates in a certain direction, it will suffer a [[recoil]] from the inertia of the fictitious fluid. In the framework of [[Lorentz ether theory]] Poincaré performed a [[Lorentz boost]] to the frame of the moving source. He noted that energy conservation holds in both frames, but that the law of conservation of momentum is violated. This would allow a [[Perpetual motion|perpetuum mobile]], a notion which he abhorred. The laws of nature would have to be different in the frames of reference, and the relativity principle would not hold.
Poincaré's paradox was resolved by Einstein's insight that a body losing energy as radiation or heat was losing a mass of the amount <math>m=E/c^2</math>. The Hertzian oscillator loses mass in the emission process, and momentum is conserved in any frame.<ref name=darrigol>{{Citation | author=Darrigol, O. | title=The Genesis of the theory of relativity. | year=2005 | journal=Séminaire Poincaré | volume=1 | pages=1–22| url=http://www.bourbaphy.fr/darrigol2.pdf}}.</ref> Einstein noted in 1906 that Poincaré's solution to the center of mass problem and his own were mathematically equivalent (see below).
Poincaré came back to this topic in "Science and Hypothesis" (1902) and "[[The Value of Science]]" (1905). This time he rejected the possibility that energy carries mass: "... [the recoil] is contrary to the principle of Newton since our projectile here has no mass, it is not matter, it is energy". He also discussed two other unexplained effects: (1) non-conservation of mass implied by Lorentz's variable mass <math>\gamma m</math>, Abraham's theory of variable mass and [[Walter Kaufmann (physicist)|Kaufmann]]'s experiments on the mass of fast moving electrons and (2) the non-conservation of energy in the radium experiments of [[Madame Curie]].
;Abraham and Hasenöhrl
Following Poincaré, [[Max Abraham]] in 1902-1904<ref>{{Citation | author=Abraham, M. | year=1903 | title=Prinzipien der Dynamik des Elektrons. | journal=Annalen der Physik| volume=10 | pages=105–179| url=http://www.weltderphysik.de/intern/upload/annalen_der_physik/1903/Band_315_105.pdf}}.</ref>
<ref>{{Citation | author=Abraham, M. | year=1904 | title= Zur Theorie der Strahlung und des Strahlungsdruckes. | journal=Annalen der Physik | volume=14 | pages=236–287 | doi=10.1002/andp.19043190703| url=http://www.weltderphysik.de/intern/upload/annalen_der_physik/1904/Band_319_236.pdf}}.</ref> introduced the term "electromagnetic momentum" to maintain the action/reaction principle. Poincaré's result, who according to Abraham gave no proof of his result, was verified by him, whereby the field density of momentum per cm<sup>3</sup> is <math>E/c^2</math> and <math>E/c</math> per cm<sup>2</sup>.
In 1904, [[Friedrich Hasenöhrl]] specifically associated inertia with ''radiation'' in a paper, which was according to his own words very similar to some papers of Abraham. Hasenöhrl suggested that part of the mass of a body (which he called ''apparent mass'') can be thought of as radiation bouncing around a cavity. The apparent mass of radiation depends on the temperature (because every heated body emits radiation) and is proportional to its energy, and he first concluded that <math>m=(8/3)E/c^2</math>. However, in 1905 Hasenöhrl published a summary of a letter, which was written by Abraham to him. Abraham concluded that Hasenöhrl's formula of the apparent mass of radiation is not correct, and based on his definition of electromagnetic momentum and longitudinal electromagnetic mass Abraham changed it to <math>m=(4/3)E/c^2</math>, the same value for the electromagnetic mass for a body at rest. Hasenöhrl re-calculated his own derivation and verified Abraham's result. He also noticed the similarity between the apparent mass and the electromagnetic mass. However, Hasenöhrl stated that this energy-apparent-mass relation ''only'' holds as long a body radiates, i.e. if the temperature of a body is greater than 0 [[kelvin|K]].<ref>{{Citation | author=Hasenöhrl, F. | year=1904 | title=Zur Theorie der Strahlung in bewegten Körpern. | journal=Annalen der Physik | volume=15 | pages=344–370 | doi=10.1002/andp.19043201206| url=http://www.weltderphysik.de/intern/upload/annalen_der_physik/1904/Band_320_344.pdf}}.</ref>
<ref>{{Citation | author=Hasenöhrl, F. | year=1905 | title=Zur Theorie der Strahlung in bewegten Körpern. Berichtigung. |journal=Annalen der Physik | volume=16 | pages=589–592 | doi=10.1002/andp.19053210312| url=http://www.weltderphysik.de/intern/upload/annalen_der_physik/1905/Band_321_589.pdf}}.</ref>
However, it was suggested that Hasenöhrl had made an error in that he did not include the pressure of the radiation on the cavity shell. If he had included the shell pressure and inertia as it would be included in the theory of relativity, the factor would have been equal to 1 or <math>m=E/c^2</math>. This calculation assumes that the shell properties are consistent with relativity, otherwise the mechanical properties of the shell including the mass and tension would not have the same transformation laws as those for the radiation.<ref name=math>MathPages: [http://www.mathpages.com/rr/s8-08/8-08.htm Who Invented Relativity?]</ref> [[Nobel Prize]]-winner and [[Adolf Hitler|Hitler]] advisor [[Philipp Lenard]] claimed that the mass–energy equivalence formula needed to be credited to Hasenöhrl to make it an [[Aryan race#Nazism|aryan]] creation.<ref>Christian Schlatter: [http://ame.epfl.ch/biblio/schlatter1.pdf Philipp Lenard et la physique aryenne.]</ref>
===Einstein: Mass–energy equivalence===
[[Albert Einstein]] did not formulate exactly this formula in his [[1905]] paper ''"Ist die Trägheit eines Körpers von seinem Energieinhalt abhängig?"'' ("''Does the Inertia of a Body Depend Upon Its Energy Content?"'', published in ''[[Annalen der Physik]]'' on [[September 27]]), one of the articles now known as his [[Annus Mirabilis Papers]].<ref name=inertia />
That paper says: ''If a body gives off the energy L in the form of radiation, its mass diminishes by <math>L/c^2</math>, "radiation" means electromagnetic radiation or light, and mass means the ordinary newtonian mass of a slow moving object.
In Einstein's first formulation, it is the ''difference'' in the mass '<math>\scriptstyle \Delta m\ </math>' before and after the ejection of energy that is equal to <math>L/c^2</math>, not the entire mass '<math> m\ </math>' of the object. Objects with zero mass presumably have zero energy, so the extension that all mass is proportional to energy is obvious from this result. In 1905, even the hypothesis that changes in energy are accompanied by changes in mass was untested. Not until the discovery of the first type of antimatter (the [[positron]] in 1932) was it found that all of the mass of pairs of resting particles could be converted to radiation.
;1905 – First correct derivation
Einstein considered a body at rest with mass M. If the body is examined in a frame moving with nonrelativistic velocity v, it is no longer at rest and in the moving frame it has momentum Mv.
Suppose now that the body emits two pulses of light to the left and to the right, each carrying an equal amount of energy E/2. Since the two pulses are equal, the object remains at rest after the emission since the two beams are equal in strength and carry opposite momentum.
But if we consider the same process in a frame moving with velocity v to the left, the pulse moving to the left will be redshifted while the pulse moving to the right will be blueshifted. The blue light carries more momentum than the red light, so that the momentum of the light in the moving frame is not balanced. The light is carrying some net momentum to the right.
But the object hasn't changed its velocity before or after the emission. Yet in this frame it lost some right-momentum to the light. The only way it could have lost momentum is by losing mass. This also solves Poincaré's radiation paradox, discussed above.
The velocity is small, so the right moving light is blueshifted by an amount equal to the nonrelativistic [[Doppler shift]] factor (1-v/c). The momentum of the light is its energy divided by c, and it is increased by a factor of v/c. So the right moving light is carrying an extra momentum <math>\Delta P</math> given by:
:<math>
\Delta P = {v \over c}{E \over 2c}.
\,</math>
The left moving light carries a little less momentum, by the same amount <math>\Delta P</math>. So the total right-momentum in the light is twice <math> \Delta P</math>. This is the right-momentum that the object lost.
:<math>
2\Delta P = v {E\over c^2}
\,</math>
The momentum of the object in the moving frame after the emission is reduced by this amount:
:<math>
P' = Mv - 2\Delta P = (M - {E\over c^2})v
\,</math>
So the change in the object's mass is equal to the total energy lost divided by <math>c^2</math>. Since any emission of energy can be carried out by a two step process, where first the energy is emitted as light and then the light is converted to some other form of energy, any emission of energy is accompanied by a loss of mass. Similarly, by considering absorption, a gain in energy is accompanied by a gain in mass. Einstein concludes that all the mass of a body is a measure of its energy content.
;1906 – Relativistic center-of-mass theorem
Like Poincaré, Einstein concluded in 1906 that the inertia of electromagnetic energy is a necessary condition for the center-of-mass theorem to hold. On this occasion, Einstein referred to Poincaré's 1900-paper and wrote:<ref>{{Citation | author=Einstein, A. | year=1906 | title=Das Prinzip von der Erhaltung der Schwerpunktsbewegung und die Trägheit der Energie | journal=Annalen der Physik | volume =20 | pages =627–633 | doi=10.1002/andp.19063250814| url=http://www.physik.uni-augsburg.de/annalen/history/papers/1906_20_627-633.pdf}}.</ref>
{{cquote|Although the merely formal considerations, which we will need for the proof, are already mostly contained in a work by H. Poincaré<sup>2</sup>, for the sake of clarity I will not rely on that work.<ref>Einstein 1906: Trotzdem die einfachen formalen Betrachtungen, die zum Nachweis dieser Behauptung durchgeführt werden müssen, in der Hauptsache bereits in einer Arbeit von H. Poincaré enthalten sind<sup>2</sup>, werde ich mich doch der Übersichtlichkeit halber nicht auf jene Arbeit stützen.</ref>}}
In Einstein's more physical, as opposed to formal or mathematical, point of view, there was no need for fictitious masses. He could avoid the ''[[Perpetual motion|perpetuum mobile]]'' problem, because based on the mass–energy equivalence he could show that the transport of inertia which accompanies the emission and absorption of radiation solves the problem. Poincaré's rejection of the principle of action-reaction can be avoided through Einstein's <math>E=mc^2</math>, because mass conservation appears as a special case of the [[energy conservation law]].
===Others===
During the nineteenth century there were several speculative attempts to show that mass and energy were proportional in various discredited ether theories.<ref> Helge Kragh, "Fin-de-Siècle Physics: A World Picture in Flux" in ''Quantum Generations: A History of Physics in the Twentieth Century'' (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1999.</ref> In particular, the writings of [[S. Tolver Preston]],<ref>Preston, S. T., Physics of the Ether, E. & F. N. Spon, London, (1875).</ref>
<ref>Bjerknes: [http://itis.volta.alessandria.it/episteme/ep6/ep6-bjerk1.htm S. Tolver Preston's Explosive Idea E = mc<sup>2</sup>.]</ref> and a 1903 paper by [[Olinto De Pretto]],<ref>De Pretto, O. ''Reale Instituto Veneto Di Scienze, Lettere Ed Arti'', LXIII, II,439-500, reprinted in Bartocci.</ref> <ref name=math /> presented a mass energy relation. De Pretto's paper received recent press coverage, when Umberto Bartocci discovered that there were only [[six degrees of separation|three degrees of separation]] linking De Pretto to Einstein, leading Bartocci to conclude that Einstein was probably aware of De Pretto's work.<ref>Umberto Bartocci, ''Albert Einstein e Olinto De Pretto - La vera storia della formula più famosa del mondo'', editore Andromeda, Bologna, 1999.</ref>
<ref>[http://www.mathsyear2000.org/thesum/issue-03/issue-03-page-04.htm mathsyear2000.]</ref>
Preston and De Pretto, following [[Le Sage's theory of gravitation|Le Sage]], imagined that the universe was filled with an ether of tiny particles which are always moving at speed c. Each of these particles have a kinetic energy of mc<sup>2</sup> up to a small numerical factor. The nonrelativistic kinetic energy formula did not always include the traditional factor of 1/2, since [[Gottfried Leibniz|Leibniz]] introduced kinetic energy without it, and the 1/2 is largely conventional in prerelativistic physics.<ref>{{cite journal| author=Prentiss, J.J.| title=Why is the energy of motion proportional to the square of the velocity? | journal=American Journal of Physics | volume=73 no 8 | date=August 2005 | pages=705}}.</ref> By assuming that every particle has a mass which is the sum of the masses of the ether particles, the authors would conclude that all matter contains an amount of kinetic energy either given by ''E''=''mc''<sup>2</sup> or ''2E''=''mc''<sup>2</sup> depending on the convention. A particle ether was usually considered unacceptably speculative science at the time,<ref>John Worrall, review of the book ''Conceptions of Ether. Studies in the History of Ether Theories'' by Cantor and Hodges, The British Journal of the Philosophy of Science vol 36, no 1, Mar 1985, p. 84. The article contrasts a particle ether with a wave-carrying ether, the latter ''was'' acceptable.</ref> and since these authors didn't formulate relativity, their reasoning is completely different from that of Einstein, who used relativity to change frames.
Independently, [[Gustave Le Bon]] in 1905 speculated that atoms could release large amounts of latent energy, reasoning from an all encompassing qualitative philosophy of physics.<ref>Le Bon: [http://www.rexresearch.com/lebonfor/evforp1.htm#p1b3ch2 The Evolution of Forces.]</ref>
<ref>Bizouard: [http://www.annales.org/archives/x/poincaBizouard.pdf Poincaré E = mc<sup>2</sup> l’équation de Poincaré, Einstein et Planck.]</ref>
===Nuclear energy and popular culture===
[[Radioactivity]] was discovered in 1896, and the source of the energy was initially a mystery. By 1903, [[Ernest Rutherford]] and [[Frederick Soddy]] had proved that the radioactivity of elements was due to the fact that they decayed into other elements, releasing a great deal of energy in the process. Einstein mentions in his 1905 paper that mass-energy equivalence might perhaps be tested with radioactive decay, which releases enough energy (the quantitative amount known roughly even by 1905) to possibly be "weighed," when missing. But the idea that great amounts of usable energy could be liberated from matter, however, proved initially difficult to substantiate in a practical fashion. Because it had been used as the basis of much speculation, Rutherford himself was once reported in the 1930s to have said that: "Anyone who expects a source of power from the transformation of the atom is talking [[moonshine]]."
[[Image:Einstein - Time Magazine - July 1, 1946.jpg|right|thumb|The popular connection between Einstein, E=mc<sup>2</sup>, and the [[atomic bomb]] was prominently indicated on the cover of ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine in July 1946 by the writing of the equation on the [[mushroom cloud]] itself.]]
This changed dramatically after the demonstration of energy released from [[nuclear fission]] after the [[atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki]] in 1945. The equation ''E=mc<sup>2</sup>'' became directly linked in the public eye with the power and peril of [[nuclear weapon]]s. The equation was featured as early as page 2 of the [[Smyth Report]], the official 1945 release by the US government on the development of the atomic bomb, and by 1946 the equation was close-enough linked with Einstein's work that the cover of ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine prominently featured a picture of Einstein next to an image of a [[mushroom cloud]] emblazoned with the equation.<ref>[http://www.time.com/time/covers/0,16641,19460701,00.html Cover.] ''Time'' magazine, July 1, 1946.</ref> Einstein himself had only a minor role in the [[Manhattan Project]]: he had [[Einstein-Szilard letter|cosigned a letter]] to the US President in 1939 urging funding for research into atomic energy, warning that an atomic bomb was theoretically possible. The letter persuaded Roosevelt to devote a significant portion of the wartime budget to atomic research. Without a security clearance, Einstein's only scientific contribution was an analysis of an [[isotope separation]] method based on the rate of molecular diffusion through pores, a now obsolete process that was then competitive and contributed a fraction of the [[enriched uranium]] used in the project.<ref>Isaacson, ''Einstein: His Life and Universe''.</ref>
While ''E=mc<sup>2</sup>'' is useful for understanding the amount of energy released in a fission reaction, it was not strictly necessary to develop the weapon. As the physicist and Manhattan Project participant [[Robert Serber]] put it: "Somehow the popular notion took hold long ago that Einstein's theory of relativity, in particular his famous equation ''E=mc<sup>2</sup>'', plays some essential role in the theory of fission. Albert Einstein had a part in alerting the United States government to the possibility of building an atomic bomb, but his theory of relativity is not required in discussing fission. The theory of fission is what physicists call a non-relativistic theory, meaning that relativistic effects are too small to affect the dynamics of the fission process significantly."<ref>Robert Serber, ''The Los Alamos Primer: The First Lectures on How to Build an Atomic Bomb'' (University of California Press, 1992), page 7. Note that the quotation is taken from Serber's 1992 version, and is not in the original 1943 [[Los Alamos Primer]] of the same name.</ref> However the association between ''E=mc<sup>2</sup>'' and nuclear energy has since stuck, and because of this association, and its simple expression of the ideas of Albert Einstein himself, it has become "the world's most famous equation".<ref>David Bodanis, ''E=mc<sup>2</sup>: A Biography of the World's Most Famous Equation'' (New York: Walker, 2000).</ref>
Though Einstein himself indicates that his work led directly to the bomb, thus perpetuating, at least metonymically, the connection between ''E=mc<sup>2</sup>'' and the bomb: “If only I had known, I would have become a watchmaker.” - Albert Einstein
==See also==
* [[Energy density]]
* [[Energy-momentum relation]]
* [[Inertia]]
* [[Binding energy]] (mass defect)
* [[Mass in special relativity]]
* [[Special relativity#Mass, momentum, and energy|Mass, momentum, and energy]]
==References==
{{reflist|2}}
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book | author=Bodanis, David | title=E=mc<sup>2</sup>: A Biography of the World's Most Famous Equation | publisher=Berkley Trade | year=2001 | id=ISBN 0425181642}}
* {{cite book | author=Tipler, Paul; Llewellyn, Ralph | title=Modern Physics (4th ed.) | publisher=W. H. Freeman | year=2002 | id=ISBN 0716743450}}
*{{cite news | first= | last= | coauthors= | title=What is the significance of E = mc<sup>2</sup>? And what does it mean? | date=April 30, 2007 | publisher= | url =http://www.sciam.com/print_version.cfm?articleID=1F16687F-E7F2-99DF-39477FE5DA7426E2 | work =Scientific American | pages = | accessdate = | language = }}
{{refend}}
==External links==
{{Wikisourcepar|Relativity: The Special and General Theory}}
* [http://relativity.livingreviews.org/ Living Reviews in Relativity] — An open access, peer-referred, solely online physics journal publishing invited reviews covering all areas of relativity research.
* [http://www.instytutfotonowy.pl/curiosities.php?itm=1&lang=en A shortcut to <math>E=mc^2</math>] — An easy to understand, high-school level derivation of the <math>E=mc^2</math> formula.
[[Category:Mass]]
[[Category:Energy]]
[[Category:Special relativity]]
[[Category:Equations]]
[[Category:Albert Einstein]]
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