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Line 133: − − Perhaps best empirical verification of '''E=mc<sup>2</sup>''' was done in 2005 by Simon Rainville et al., as published in ''[[Nature (journal)|Nature]]'' (which is not a leading physics journal).<ref name="rainville"/> The article states that "Einstein's relationship is separately confirmed in two tests, which yield a combined result of 1−Δmc²/E=(−1.4±4.4)×10<sup>−7</sup>, indicating that it holds to a level of at least 0.00004%. To our knowledge, this is the most precise direct test of the famous equation yet described."
The Rainville test had been scattered in two places. Combine into one.
The 1932 Cockcroft-Walton experiment, described in more detail below, started to make the equation famous by confirming it, with reasonable accuracy, for an artificially induced nuclear reaction. (Confirming E=mc<sup>2</sup> was not a goal of the experiment; it was an incidental consequence. The equation had already been known and understood for many years.)
The 1932 Cockcroft-Walton experiment, described in more detail below, started to make the equation famous by confirming it, with reasonable accuracy, for an artificially induced nuclear reaction. (Confirming E=mc<sup>2</sup> was not a goal of the experiment; it was an incidental consequence. The equation had already been known and understood for many years.)
In the decades since, nuclear transmutations have been performed, in particle accelerators, all over the periodic table, observing in detail the properties of various isotopes. These have confirmed E=mc<sup>2</sup> with great precision. Perhaps the most precise test, by Rainville ''et. al.'',<ref name="rainville">[http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v438/n7071/full/4381096a.html Nature 438, 1096-1097 (22 December 2005)] doi:10.1038/4381096a; Published online 21 December 2005</ref> confirmed the equation to an accuracy of a few parts per million.
In the decades since, nuclear transmutations have been performed, in particle accelerators, all over the periodic table, observing in detail the properties of various isotopes. These have confirmed E=mc<sup>2</sup> with great precision.
==The Rainville test==
Perhaps the most precise direct empirical verification of E=mc<sup>2</sup> was done in 2005 by Simon Rainville ''et. al.''<ref>[http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v438/n7071/full/4381096a.html Nature 438, 1096-1097 (22 December 2005)] doi:10.1038/4381096a; Published online 21 December 2005</ref> The article states that "Einstein's relationship is separately confirmed in two tests, which yield a combined result of 1−Δmc²/E=(−1.4±4.4)×10<sup>−7</sup>, indicating that it holds to a level of at least 0.00004%. To our knowledge, this is the most precise direct test of the famous equation yet described."
==Alleged Experimental verification--the Cockcroft-Walton experiment==
==Alleged Experimental verification--the Cockcroft-Walton experiment==
Accurate measurements and detailed calculations allowed for verifying the theoretical values with an accuracy of ±0.5%. This was the first time a nucleus was artificially split, and thereby the first transmutation of elements using accelerated particles:
Accurate measurements and detailed calculations allowed for verifying the theoretical values with an accuracy of ±0.5%. This was the first time a nucleus was artificially split, and thereby the first transmutation of elements using accelerated particles:
==A Famous Example -- Nuclear Fission of Uranium==
==A Famous Example -- Nuclear Fission of Uranium==