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jaketodd
Gold Member
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I am wondering what the rest energy (mc^2) is of 1 cubic meter of pure matter (no empty space).
Thanks,
Jake
Thanks,
Jake
Drakkith said:Pure matter? There is no such thing.
You need choose a density of some amount or tell us the mass of the matter.
jaketodd said:I know there's no such thing. Well I was thinking a neutron star would be pure matter, but I'm unsure of that, so I'm asking: Theoretically, how much rest energy would one cubic meter of pure matter have?
Thanks,
Jake
Drakkith said:Let me put it this way. Matter is composed of quarks, which form into protons and neutrons, and of electrons. Compress matter enough, such as in a neutron star, and you get a superdense material known as neutronium. Compress it even more and the end result is what appears to be a singularity, a region of space where matter is compressed into infinite density. It is unknown whether singularities actually exist or if they are simply artifacts of an incomplete theory. "Pure matter" seems to me to be the infinitely compressed type, which cannot occupy a set volume of space, as it is compressed infinitely small.
Pengwuino said:Let's just decide we're using a neutron star's density of roughly [itex]4.0 \times 10^{17} kg/m^3[/itex]. So one cubic meter would have the rest energy of [itex]4.0 \times 10^{17} kg/m^3 \times 9.00 \times 10^{16} m^2/s^2 = 3.6 \times 10^{34} J[/itex]. There you go.
Then why did you ask the question?jaketodd said:I knew that, but thanks.
DaleSpam said:Then why did you ask the question?
Rest energy refers to the amount of energy that an object possesses even when it is not in motion. It is a fundamental concept in physics and is closely related to the famous equation E=mc², which states that energy (E) is equal to the mass (m) of an object multiplied by the speed of light (c) squared.
Rest energy and mass are equivalent and can be converted into each other. This is known as the mass-energy equivalence principle, which was first proposed by Albert Einstein. This means that even a small amount of mass can contain a significant amount of energy.
The formula for calculating rest energy is E=mc², where E is the rest energy in joules, m is the mass in kilograms, and c is the speed of light in meters per second. This formula is also known as the mass-energy equivalence equation and is used to calculate the amount of energy released in nuclear reactions.
The rest energy of matter is a crucial factor in determining the stability of an object. In nuclear physics, it is used to calculate the binding energy of an atomic nucleus, which is the amount of energy required to break it apart. A higher rest energy can make a nucleus more stable, while a lower rest energy can make it more unstable.
No, rest energy cannot be observed or measured directly. It is a theoretical concept that helps us understand the relationship between mass and energy. However, the effects of rest energy can be observed and measured in various physical phenomena, such as nuclear reactions and radioactive decay.