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→E=mc<sup>2</sup>: Acknowledge that the point is to _counter_ the pop-culture oversimplification, Columbus-said-world-was-round-E=mc2-made-the-bomb
Einstein’s famous formula E=mc<sup>2</sup> says that mass and energy can turn into each other. It was first published by H. Poincare. E stands for [[energy]], m is [[mass]], and c is the [[speed of light]]. So, if you increase the energy of a substance, for example by heating it, it gains a minute amount of mass. It was later realized that if you split an atom apart, as in a nuclear explosion, it loses a tiny amount of mass and you release a huge amount of [[energy]].
Einstein’s famous formula E=mc<sup>2</sup> says that mass and energy can turn into each other. It was first published by H. Poincare. E stands for [[energy]], m is [[mass]], and c is the [[speed of light]]. So, if you increase the energy of a substance, for example by heating it, it gains a minute amount of mass. It was later realized that if you split an atom apart, as in a nuclear explosion, it loses a tiny amount of mass and you release a huge amount of [[energy]].
Early workers in radioactivity, such as Ernest Rutherford, understood clearly that the natural radioactive decay of radium released quantities of energy that could not be explained by chemistry, and were much larger than those of chemical reactions. Einstein provided a theoretical framework that accounted for this. Leo Szilard, inspired by a fictional H. G. Wells novel, discovered or invented the chain reaction, which made it possible to release nuclear energy more rapidly than by natural decay processes, making it possible to use nuclear energy for weapons or practical energy production.
The connection E=mc<sup>2</sup> to nuclear energy is not as direct as pop culture sometimes represents. Einstein did not discover the huge energy available from nuclear reactions. Early workers in radioactivity, such as Ernest Rutherford, understood clearly that the natural radioactive decay of radium released quantities of energy that could not be explained by chemistry, and were much larger than those of chemical reactions. Neither did he originate the key idea that made nuclear energy a possible weapon or a practical energy source; the person who did this was Leo Szilard, who was inspired by a 1914 H. G. Wells fictional novel. Szilard discovered or invented the chain reaction (and patented it). What Einstein did was to provide a theoretical framework that accounted for the release of energy, and a quantitative theory that was used by the scientists at Los Alamos who designed and built the bomb.
Energy binds together the parts of an [[atom]], including the [[nucleus]]. The nucleus of an atom is tiny, but very little mass could release a huge amount of energy. When one nucleus splits apart, it splits other nuclei around it. This is called a [[chain reaction]].
Energy binds together the parts of an [[atom]], including the [[nucleus]]. The nucleus of an atom is tiny, but very little mass could release a huge amount of energy. When one nucleus splits apart, it splits other nuclei around it. This is called a [[chain reaction]].