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How do you use this formula? I know it means that energy is equivalent to mass multiplied by speed of light squared, but how does it result in atomic bombs and how does it imply a mass cannot exist during light-speed? Does the speed of light mean the actual velocity or distance?

How does this formula work?

Basically, all the formula is saying is that everything has energy. Every single atom in the whole universe has tonnes of energy stored in it.

E=MC2
Energy In An Atom=Mass Of The Atom X The Speed Of Light squared

This results in the atomic bomb by splitting a radioactive atom. They use a radioactive atom as its structure is not that stable.
They split the radioactive atom, and when the atom is split, tonnes of energy that was stored in the atom is unleashed in all directions of the atom, as well as 2 molecules of an element with a lesser periodic number in it.

Now, if 1 atom releases quite a bit of energy, think how much energy a couple of pounds of uranium or plutonium would produce if that was split.

That is exactly what they did with the first atomic bombs. They got a few pounds of enriched uranium and plutonium and split the atoms in the element. This resulted in a large amount of energy being produced, and thus you have lots of destruction. If you've ever seen pictures of Hiroshima and Nagasaki after the explosion, you'll know exactly just how much damage the unleashed energy can cause.

Now, I'm not sure if everything I've written is true, as I'm basing this on a programme that was on Channel 4 a few months back on E=MC2. But I think that most of it is right.

Okay, now I understand about the mass and the energy, but I'm still confused about the speed of light part. What does it have to do with the splitting of radioactive atoms?

Well, when an atom approaches the speed of light, the energy gets converted into mass. The mass is then added to the atom that is about to approach the speed of light. Because the energy is being converted into mass, it means the atom can never reach the speed of light or go faster than it.

The splitting of the atom has very little to do with the speed of light. The nucleus of the atom is split (I think it's done by bombarding the nucleus with Neutrons). The nucleus of an atom is comprised of Protons and Neutrons. When the atom is split, some of the energy that was stored in that atom is released.

Ah, I see now. Thanks for clearing that up

However, unless I'm mistaken, does that mean an atom is at its heaviest mass when nearing the speed of light, so that its velocity decreases? Weird, I thought the atom would convert to energy instead, disintegrating the atom in the process...

It means that the atom's mass will increase as long as energy is forcing it towards the speed of light. The mass gets converted into energy when the atom is split.

So in short, an atom gets split into energy, which causes it to move, and then as it gets closer to the speed of light, the energy reverts back to mass, hence slowing it down since there is now less energy which forces the atom to move?

Does that mean all the wastage of the Uranium or Plutionium blown up during a nuclear reaction remain intact, just scattered here and there, since the atoms split, blowing everything else, and revert back to atoms?

And just out of curiosity, what kind of radiation emitted as radioactive energy is released which could incinerate objects near the explosion, and how does it affect or mutate human?

No. The atoms are mass as they approach the speed of light. But for an atom to go that fast it takes a LOT of energy. When an atom approaches the speed of light, the energy that would propell the atom at the speed of light exactly is instead put into the atom itself, causing the mass of the atom to increase. Because the energy that would make it go at the speed of light is being chanelled into the atom that's being propelled at astronomical speeds, the Atom can never go at the speed of light. EVER!
Also, an atom will never lose mass as it approaches the speed of light, it gains it.

As for your question of what happens to the radioactive element when it is spliced, I can answer that. Because the atom has been split, it is in 2 or more pieces. Those pieces would have protons from the original radioactive element, but they wouldn't have enough protons to be the same element that was spliced. Instead, it would be a different element.

E.g. If Uranium was spliced, then the products could be energy, Ytterbium and Titanium. Note that both Ytterbium (70) and Titanium (22) have lower periodic numbers than Uranium (92)


As for the radiation, I don't have a clue. Although I think the heat energy released from the bomb upon detenation would have incinerated nearby things, not the radiation.



Also, please note, that I'm not sure that ANYTHING that I've said is right, although I think that most of it is. Still, ask someone who knows about these things for a second opinion.

I will study it at a more in-depth level when I think my brain can handle enough information, but for now I am content with just the basic concepts, which I am pretty sure you understand.

As for the incineration, yeah, probably the heat produced is due to exothermic reaction as the atom splits.

Thanks for all the explanation, you've made my day

By the way, is it possible for an atom to have so much energy that it can travel in the speed of light for awhile, before dropping down to normal speed? Maybe such element isn't discovered yet?

Glad to have made your day. And no, if an atom got too close to the speed of light, then time would slow down around the atom. Essentially, the atom would be slowed down in time, but because light is constant, the light would just keep surging along.

Does that mean faster-than-light travels are impossible?

'Conventional' FTL travel is at any rate. If an object was approaching lightspeed its mass would increase and it would need more and more fuel to keep accelerating, which would be impossible...

Thanks, so I guess photon will always be the fastest

I seem to remember tachyons being particles that can only move faster than the speed of light, but you'd have to look on google to make sure.

Ramjet engines can feasibly get us arbitrerily close to SOL.

Tachyons, were once thought to be FTL, but recent evidence shows otherwise.
Yes, the escape balck holes, but thats due to a whole other level of weirdass physics.
Always loved how black holes basicly say "nuh-uh!" to the laws of thermo dynamics.