Energy

[dirtydog]

Why is the kinetic energy given by E=\frac{1}{2}mv^2
yet Einstein's energy equation is E=mc^2 ?
Why is there a different constant (ie \frac{1}{2} and 1)?

[ZapperZ]

Why is the kinetic energy given by E=\frac{1}{2}mv^2
yet Einstein's energy equation is E=mc^2 ?
Why is there a different constant (ie \frac{1}{2} and 1)?

Er... because they are NOT the same beast, so why should they be identical? One is the energy of motion, the other is the REST mass energy.

Zz.

[arildno]

You are confusing relativistic energy with classical kinetic energy.
If I remember correctly, the relativistic energy of a particle with rest mass m is given by:
E_{rel}=\frac{mc^{2}}{\sqrt{1-(\frac{v}{c})^{2}}}\approx{m}c^{2}+\frac{1}{2}mv^{ 2},v<<c
(where v is the measured velocity of the particle)

In the low speed limit, we see that the relativistic energy can be written as the sum of the rest mass energy (mc^{2}) and the classical kinetic energy.

[profbored]

hi dirtydog,
as zapperz says, thery are not the same thing. kinetic energy (KE) is a form of energy that a body has due to its motion, while the other eqn describes the total amt of inherent energy that a body has due to its mass.

therefore for the KE, a body's KE can be increased by increasing its speed. a drop in speed would therefore cause the KE to drop. an obj at rest would then hav 0 KE.

as for E = mc^2, no matter the body is moving or not, the E here remains the same if the body's mass does not change. u can onli vary this E by varying the mass of that body. therefore this eqn gives u the total amt of energy that is 'associated' with a certain mass.

hope that helps to clarify things.