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Coda · Posted 01-14-2017, 10:36 PM

Okay, so your math is right if you fix the mistake I already mentioned.

As for a real-world example of E=mc^2... Photons don't have mass, because they're pure energy. They travel at the speed of light, never any faster or any slower. But we know that photons can transfer kinetic energy to other objects -- which means that photons must have momentum.

Except momentum is mass times velocity, and photons have no mass!

That's where E=mc^2 comes in. We can say that a photon's effective mass, for momentum purposes, is equal to its energy, divided by the speed of light.

Coda Developer			#85
	Okay, so your math is right if you fix the mistake I already mentioned. As for a real-world example of E=mc^2... Photons don't have mass, because they're pure energy. They travel at the speed of light, never any faster or any slower. But we know that photons can transfer kinetic energy to other objects -- which means that photons must have momentum. Except momentum is mass times velocity, and photons have no mass! That's where E=mc^2 comes in. We can say that a photon's effective mass, for momentum purposes, is equal to its energy, divided by the speed of light. Games by Coda (updated 4/8/2025 - New game: Marianas Miner) Art by Coda (updated 8/25/2022 - beatBitten and All-Nighter Simulator) Mega Man: The Light of Will (Mega Man / Green Lantern crossover: In the lead-up to the events of Mega Man 2, Dr. Wily has discovered emotional light technology. How will his creations change how humankind thinks about artificial intelligence? Sadly abandoned. Sufficient Velocity x-post)
		Posted 01-14-2017, 10:36 PM