Relativistic Energy of a Ball: Understanding the Equivalence of Mass and Energy

In summary, according to the mass-energy equivalent theorem, an object of mass m has an energy of E=mc2 regardless of whether it is at rest or moving. If a ball of mass m is placed on the ground, its energy is equal to E=mc2. However, if the ball is raised to a height h, the energy of the ball/earth system is converted to potential energy (mgh). This potential energy is often mistakenly referred to as part of the ball's energy in quantum theory. The total energy of the ball contains both quantities, but in this case, the value of mgh is much higher than mc2 in terms of Joules. This can be confusing, but it is important to understand the distinction
  • #1
astro2cosmos
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according to mass-energy equivalent theorem, Regardless of whether the object is at rest or moving, the object of mass m having energy E=mc2.

suppose a ball of mass m is placed on ground, then how much energy this ball have?
Is it equal to E=mc2 ??
now if we place this ball above the ground up to height h, Is this mean all Energy of ball (i.e E=mc2) is converted to potential energy (mgh) ?
if so this ball have so much tremendous energy!
how it can be possible?
 
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  • #2
astro2cosmos said:
according to mass-energy equivalent theorem, Regardless of whether the object is at rest or moving, the object of mass m having energy E=mc2.

suppose a ball of mass m is placed on ground, then how much energy this ball have?
Is it equal to E=mc2 ??
now if we place this ball above the ground up to height h, Is this mean all Energy of ball (i.e E=mc2) is converted to potential energy (mgh) ?
if so this ball have so much tremendous energy!
how it can be possible?

If the ball went up to h all by itself, then yes. Usually ball's don't do that, and the rest energy of a small fraction of its mass would usually blast the ball well above escape velocity if it did.

Usually the energy to raise the ball h is added by some other force, thus the rest energy of the ball is constant.
 
  • #3
astro2cosmos said:
according to mass-energy equivalent theorem, Regardless of whether the object is at rest or moving, the object of mass m having energy E=mc2.

suppose a ball of mass m is placed on ground, then how much energy this ball have?
Is it equal to E=mc2 ??
now if we place this ball above the ground up to height h, Is this mean all Energy of ball (i.e E=mc2) is converted to potential energy (mgh) ?

No, it isn't. But , if the ball is made out of a radioactive material and you let it sit on your desk, it will release an energy:

[tex]\Delta E=c^2 \Delta m[/tex]

Now, this can be a tremendous amount of energy due to the huge value of the conversion factor [tex]c^2[/tex]


if so this ball have so much tremendous energy!
how it can be possible?

If it is radioactive, this is how it is possible. Be careful when you play with radioactive tennis balls :-)
 
  • #4
astro2cosmos said:
Energy of ball (i.e E=mc2) is converted to potential energy (mgh) ?

mc<sup>2</sup> is descriptive of the isolated ball. mgh is an energy of the ball/earth system. Unfortunately, this potential energy is often said to be part of the ball's energy (e.g. in quantum theory).
 
  • #5
GRDixon said:
mc<sup>2</sup> is descriptive of the isolated ball. mgh is an energy of the ball/earth system. Unfortunately, this potential energy is often said to be part of the ball's energy (e.g. in quantum theory).

what is the "descriptive of the isolated ball"?? then does the total energy of the ball contain both quantities i.e (T.E = mc2 + mgh)??
but in this case the quantitative value of mgh is very much higher than the mc2 in terms of Joule.!
wat is confusion!
 

1. What is relativistic energy?

Relativistic energy is the total energy of an object, taking into account its mass and velocity in relation to the speed of light.

2. How is the relativistic energy of a ball calculated?

The relativistic energy of a ball can be calculated using the equation E = mc²/(1- v²/c²)^(1/2), where E is the energy, m is the mass of the ball, c is the speed of light, and v is the velocity of the ball.

3. How does the relativistic energy of a ball change as it moves faster?

As the velocity of the ball approaches the speed of light, the relativistic energy increases significantly due to the denominator in the equation approaching zero. This means that the energy of the ball becomes infinite as its velocity approaches the speed of light.

4. How does the mass of the ball affect its relativistic energy?

The mass of the ball directly affects its relativistic energy, as seen in the equation. As the mass increases, the energy also increases. This is why objects with large masses, such as planets, have high amounts of relativistic energy due to their large gravitational pull.

5. What real-life applications does the concept of relativistic energy have?

The concept of relativistic energy is utilized in various fields such as physics, cosmology, and engineering. It helps explain the behavior of particles at high speeds, the energy of stars and galaxies, and the production of nuclear energy. It also plays a crucial role in the development of technologies such as particle accelerators and nuclear reactors.

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