Mass and Energy and Einstein

On Friday, we discussed how energy and matter are two sides of the same coin. They are, essentially, descriptions of the same thing(s).

Here’s a little preview of where we’re headed with this revelation and some of the implications…

Mass, Energy, and the Sun : Built on Facts: “Since the speed of light c = 299,792,458 m/s, the speed of light squared is about 8.99×1016 m^2/s^2. As such one kilogram of mass is the equivalent of a ridiculously huge amount of energy, as we see in nuclear reactors and weapons. It’s a little less commonly understood that this isn’t just true for nuclear reactions, it’s true for everything. Burn some logs in your fireplace and the total mass of the wood and oxygen will have been just microscopically higher than the final mass of the combustion products. The remainder has gone into the energy released to warm your house. It’s the very same equation on a much smaller scale.”

What a wonderful uni(multi?)verse we inhabit!

'We have broken speed of light'

I definitely have to see the data and an experiment to confirm this to think it could even be remotely true… but if it is… wow!

A pair of German physicists claim to have broken the speed of light – an achievement that would undermine our entire understanding of space and time.

According to Einstein’s special theory of relativity, it would require an infinite amount of energy to propel an object at more than 186,000 miles per second.

However, Dr Gunter Nimtz and Dr Alfons Stahlhofen, of the University of Koblenz, say they may have breached a key tenet of that theory.

via ‘We have broken speed of light’ – Telegraph.

Miracle Year Anniversary

Albert Einstein had an amazing year in 1905. At the age of 26, he published three papers that changed the way humanity thinks about the universe. In fact, 1905 has been called the “Miracle Year” because of Einstein’s contributions.

Even now, 104 years later, scientists are still studying these papers and applying them to new breakthroughs and insights into the world of physical science.

Yesterday (June 30) was the anniversary of Einstein’s paper on “Special Relativity.” That sounds complicated, but we’ll be studying it this year and you’ll realize how much sense it makes!

Today in History : The Primate Diaries: “This was Einstein’s third of what have become known as the Annus Mirabilis papers (Latin for ‘extraordinary year’) and revolutionized the field of physics by reconciling Maxwell’s equations for electricity and magnetism with the laws of mechanics. He was 26 years old. In this paper Einstein also dispelled with the concept of ‘luminiferous ether’ (proposed by Isaac Newton in 1704), a hypothetical medium that light waves were thought to travel through in the same way that sound waves travel through air or water. His first paper, on the photoelectric effect, earned him the Nobel Prize in physics.”

We’ll also be looking at the other two papers Einstein published during his “Miracle Year.” Maybe you’ll have a Miracle Year of your own!

Einstein Comes To America

I really love the Internet Archive:

We’ll be seeing more of Mr. Einstein this year!

Internet Archive: Free Download: Albert Einstein Comes To America