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Line 39: − Einstein’s famous formula ''E'' = ''mc''<sup>2</sup> says that mass and energy can turn into each other. It was first published by Henri Poincaré. Einstein published an alternate derivation that was corrected and improved by Max Planck. ''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 that is released in the form of [[energy]]. +
→''E'' = ''mc''<sup>2</sup>: Spelling, grammar, and general cleanup, typos fixed: Einstein’s → Einstein's
===''E'' = ''mc''<sup>2</sup>===
===''E'' = ''mc''<sup>2</sup>===
Einstein's famous formula ''E'' = ''mc''<sup>2</sup> says that mass and energy can turn into each other. It was first published by Henri Poincaré. Einstein published an alternate derivation that was corrected and improved by Max Planck. ''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 that is released in the form of [[energy]].
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 Einstein originate the key idea that made nuclear energy a possible weapon or a practical energy source. That was Leo Szilard, who acknowledged having been inspired by a 1914 [[H. G. Wells]] novel. Szilard discovered or invented the chain reaction (and patented it). However, other people recognized the relation between Einstein's interpretation of the ''E'' = ''mc''<sup>2</sup> formula and chain reactions. Einstein explained that matter releasing energy is also losing mass.
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 Einstein originate the key idea that made nuclear energy a possible weapon or a practical energy source. That was Leo Szilard, who acknowledged having been inspired by a 1914 [[H. G. Wells]] novel. Szilard discovered or invented the chain reaction (and patented it). However, other people recognized the relation between Einstein's interpretation of the ''E'' = ''mc''<sup>2</sup> formula and chain reactions. Einstein explained that matter releasing energy is also losing mass.