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THE MASS-ENERGY EQUIVALENCE
In 1905, a 26-year-old patent clerk named Albert Einstein revealed that mass and energy are interchangeable. This equation shows that a tiny amount of mass can be converted into enormous amounts of energy, powering stars and changing the course of history.
Measured in joules
Measured in kilograms
90,000,000,000,000,000 m²/s²
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Every second, the Sun converts 4.3 million tons of mass into energy through nuclear fusion. That's like destroying 400 Empire State Buildings every second! [^1^]
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A 170-lb person at rest contains the same energy as approximately 50% of the 2001 United States electrical energy production. You are a walking power plant! [^1^]
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The atomic bomb that destroyed Hiroshima converted only about 0.7 grams of mass into energy. That's less than the weight of a paperclip! [^11^]
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Einstein originally wrote it as m = E/c², emphasizing that mass is just concentrated energy. The famous E=mc² notation came later! [^1^]
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As objects approach light speed, their relativistic mass increases infinitely. That's why nothing with mass can ever reach the speed of light! [^8^]
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1905 was Einstein's "Annus Mirabilis" (Miracle Year). He published 4 groundbreaking papers including Special Relativity and E=mc², all while working as a patent clerk! [^3^]
Click atoms to fuse them together! Convert mass into energy. The more you fuse, the more energy you generate. But be careful—unstable atoms might decay!