Einstein on Matter & Energy: Debunking Misconceptions

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SUMMARY

The discussion centers on the quote attributed to Albert Einstein regarding the nature of matter and energy, specifically the assertion that "what we have called matter is energy." Participants express skepticism about the authenticity of the quote, noting its frequent misattribution to figures like Nikola Tesla. The conversation highlights the scientific principle that matter can exhibit wave-like behavior, particularly under conditions such as neutron diffraction, which requires extremely low temperatures. Overall, the consensus leans towards the idea that the quote may be a misrepresentation of Einstein's views.

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“Concerning matter, we have been all wrong. What we have called matter is energy, whose vibration has been so lowered as to be perceptible to the senses. There is no matter.”
Albert Einstein

Einstein really said that? Or It's another fake quote from him in the internet?
 
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No idea, but it's not wrong to think of matter as a really compact form of energy.

Also, you do have to have special laboratory setups to see the wave-like behavior of matter. For the deBroglie wavelength to be long enough to create interference large enough to see, the matter has to be really cold (say, for neutron diffraction)
 
Considering that this only shows up in newage (rhymes with "sewage") web sites, and is attributed to Tesla almost as often as to Einstein, I think it's quite likely fake.
 

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