E=MC2
Albert Einstein's famous equation, E=mc², shows the relationship between energy (E) and mass (m). The equation states that the energy (E) contained within an object is equal to its mass (m) multiplied by the speed of light (c) squared.
The speed of light is a very large number (approximately 3 x 10⁸ meters per second) and when we square it (c²), the number becomes even larger. This means that even a small amount of mass contains a huge amount of energy.
For example, if we take a small object with a mass of 1 gram, the energy contained within that object would be equal to (1 gram) x (3 x 10⁸ meters per second)², which is equal to 9 x 10¹⁶ joules. This is a huge amount of energy, equivalent to the energy released by the explosion of thousands of tons of TNT.
Einstein's equation is important because it shows that energy and mass are interchangeable and that they are different forms of the same thing. This relationship is fundamental to our understanding of the universe and is used in many areas of science and technology, including nuclear power, particle physics and cosmology.