Mass-Energy Equivalence
Key Stage 4
Meaning
Mass-Energy is the observation that energy and mass together form a conserved quantity in a nuclear reaction or decay.
About Mass-Energy Equivalence
- Energy and mass are related by Einstein's famous equation \(E=mc^2\).
- Energy can become mass and mass can become energy.
- Energy becomes mass in a particle accelerator which gives particles so much kinetic energy before they collide that during the collision that energy becomes mass and creates new particles.
- Mass becomes energy in nuclear reactions and nuclear decays.
- When a nuclear reaction takes place the mass of the products is less than the mass of the reactants as some of the mass has been converted into energy and transferred away by gamma-rays.