Creating Mass from Energy: Understanding the Physics Behind It

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the concept of mass creation from energy, exploring theoretical and experimental perspectives. Participants examine various scenarios where mass may arise from energy, including high-energy photons and thermal energy, as well as the implications of mechanical compression.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants propose that mass can be created from energy, citing examples such as high-energy gamma ray photons producing electron-positron pairs under certain conditions.
  • Others mention that high-energy collisions in particle accelerators can generate various particles with different masses.
  • One participant suggests that a hot object possesses a slight increase in mass compared to a cold object due to the addition of thermal energy.
  • Another participant questions whether a compressed spring has more mass than an uncompressed one, to which a later reply affirms that it does indeed have more mass.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express multiple competing views regarding the mechanisms of mass creation from energy, and the discussion remains unresolved with no consensus reached on all points.

Contextual Notes

The discussion includes assumptions about the conditions under which mass can be created from energy, such as the specific scenarios involving high-energy photons and thermal energy. The implications of mechanical compression on mass are also noted but not fully explored.

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can mass be created from energy?
 
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Not by humans, AFAIK.
 
Arroiyyaan said:
can mass be created from energy?

Yes. For one example, a sufficiently high-energy gamma ray photon can under the right circumstances give up its energy to form an electron and an anti-electron. For another, high-energy collisions in particle accelerators routinely generate sprays of interesting particles of various masses.
 
And there's another way. A hot object has a very tiny amount of extra mass compared to an identical cold object. So you can create mass just by supplying heat energy to an object.
 
DrGreg said:
And there's another way. A hot object has a very tiny amount of extra mass compared to an identical cold object. So you can create mass just by supplying heat energy to an object.
Is there yet another?Does a compressed spring have more mass than an identical one that is not.
 
Buckleymanor said:
Is there yet another?Does a compressed spring have more mass than an identical one that is not.

It does indeed.
 

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