Can energy be converted into mass?

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In summary: KE+PE+\dotsI think the confusion comes from the fact that mass and energy are interchangeable in certain processes, but they are not equivalent. Mass is a property of matter, while energy is a property of physical systems. In summary, while it is possible to convert mass into energy (as seen in fission and fusion bombs), it is not entirely accurate to say that mass and energy are equivalent. They are two distinct properties that can be converted into each other in certain processes.
  • #1
manjuvenamma
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I know mass has been converted into energy in fission and fusion bombs. But the converse - i.e., converting energy into mass - has been achieved? Please let me know.
 
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  • #2
manjuvenamma said:
I know mass has been converted into energy in fission and fusion bombs. But the converse - i.e., converting energy into mass - has been achieved? Please let me know.
Its not that mass is converted into energy or vice-versa. What actually happens is that the form of (inertial) mass changes. What happens is that the proper mass increases as does the mass due to motion (aka relativistic mass) since the atom will recoil in order to take up the photon's momentum.

Pete
 
  • #3
High-energy particle physicists produce more-massive particles by colliding less-massive particles together with the help of accelerators like the ones at CERN and Fermilab.
 
  • #4
Pete,

I always read in books that E = mc^2 conserves mass plus energy rather than mass and energy separately as held by the Newtonian principles. I always read that the equation relates conversion of mass into energy. Perhaps they are oversimplified statements that I read.

I will try to understand your answer better. Can you give me some link that explains this equation more accurately and allows me to understand your answer better.
 
  • #5
Yes, they are equivalent and also can go from one to the other.

http://www.bnl.gov/bnlweb/history/images/4-1069-75_OmegaMinus.jpg

There's a picture here of that process happening.
 
  • #6
manjuvenamma said:
I know mass has been converted into energy in fission and fusion bombs. But the converse - i.e., converting energy into mass - has been achieved? Please let me know.
Yes, the creation of an electron-positron pair is one of the most important interactions for photons with a little more than 1 MeV energy.
 
  • #7
Yes, they are equivalent and also can go from one to the other.

Calling them equivalent is not really correct.

You could perhaps say that matter is a type of energy or matter has energy, but some types of energy do not have mass and thus could not be matter.

Scott
 
  • #8
manjuvenamma said:
Pete,

I always read in books that E = mc^2 conserves mass plus energy rather than mass and energy separately as held by the Newtonian principles. I always read that the equation relates conversion of mass into energy. Perhaps they are oversimplified statements that I read.

I will try to understand your answer better. Can you give me some link that explains this equation more accurately and allows me to understand your answer better.
manjuvenamma:

I might have misunderstood Pete, but if not, then I'd have to disagree with his earlier statement. It sounded to me as if he was describing the effect of relativistic mass, which is where the mass of an object increases as its velocity increases.

In nuclear fission, mass is most certainly destroyed and converted to energy. Actually, this happens any time matter and antimatter annihilate. The reverse process is precisely what other posts have referred to, e.g. production of e+/e- pairs.
 
  • #9
superdirt said:
Calling them equivalent is not really correct.

You could perhaps say that matter is a type of energy or matter has energy, but some types of energy do not have mass and thus could not be matter.

Scott
All forms of energy in the rest frame of a bound system (say, an atom, or a collection of particles in a box) do contribute to the inertial mass of the system as a whole as measured in its rest frame, though. A box containing some system will have inertial mass proportional to the sum of the rest mass energy, kinetic energy, and potential energy of all of the particles that make it up (including the ones in the wall of the box of course).
 
  • #10
All forms of energy in the rest frame of a bound system (say, an atom, or a collection of particles in a box) do contribute to the inertial mass of the system as a whole as measured in its rest frame, though. A box containing some system will have inertial mass proportional to the sum of the rest mass energy, kinetic energy, and potential energy of all of the particles that make it up (including the ones in the wall of the box of course).

That is correct, all energy has inertial or relativistic mass. What I meant and should have said, is that not all energy has rest mass.

Mass and energy can't be equivalent, because they are defined so differently.

Scott
 
  • #11
superdirt said:
Calling them equivalent is not really correct.

You could perhaps say that matter is a type of energy or matter has energy, but some types of energy do not have mass and thus could not be matter.

Scott

Ok e doesn't equal mc^2 then. Mass and energy are not convertable, that's not what I meant.

They are as equivalent as the [itex]\equiv[/itex] sign. No they are not the same thing. :smile:

Good gravy. :tongue:

Instead of [itex]E=mc^2 \rightarrow E\simeq mc^2[/itex]
 
Last edited:

1. What is the relationship between energy and mass?

Energy and mass are two fundamental properties of matter. They are related by Einstein's famous equation, E=mc², which states that energy and mass are interchangeable and can be converted into one another. This means that mass can be converted into energy and vice versa.

2. How is energy converted into mass?

Energy can be converted into mass through a process called pair production, which occurs when a high-energy photon interacts with a nucleus or an electron. The energy of the photon is converted into the mass of an electron-positron pair. This process is commonly observed in particle accelerators.

3. Can any type of energy be converted into mass?

According to Einstein's equation, any form of energy can potentially be converted into mass. However, the amount of mass that can be created is dependent on the amount of energy involved. The more energy, the more mass can be created.

4. Is the conversion of energy into mass reversible?

Yes, the conversion of energy into mass is a reversible process. This means that mass can also be converted back into energy. This is demonstrated in nuclear reactions, where the mass of the reactants is different from the mass of the products due to the conversion of some mass into energy.

5. How does the conversion of energy into mass relate to nuclear power?

Nuclear power plants use the process of nuclear fission, in which the nucleus of an atom is split, to generate energy. This process also releases a small amount of mass, which is converted into a large amount of energy according to Einstein's equation. This energy is then used to generate electricity.

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