Has it been observed? Is it just theoretical? Is it one of those simple-but-profound things?
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Both fission and fusion can convert energy into mass. It just depends on the elements. For example if you fuse iron atoms with deuterium atoms you get cobalt which have higher mass then iron and deuterium combined. This fusion does require energy input.
Most of these events happens in supernovaes. So we have not directly observed any of it. But we can see the effects of this and compare the composition of older and newer stardust to see exactly how this happens. But we can also create matter using energy in our labs. This is the primary purpose of particle accelerators. They are basically machines bulit to focus a lot of energy into a tiny area and observe what strange particles gets created. These particles have mass which far excedes the mass of the input particles.
Both fission and fusion can convert energy into mass. It just depends on the elements. For example if you fuse iron atoms with deuterium atoms you get cobalt which have higher mass then iron and deuterium combined. This fusion does require energy input.
Most of these events happens in supernovaes. So we have not directly observed any of it. But we can see the effects of this and compare the composition of older and newer stardust to see exactly how this happens. But we can also create matter using energy in our labs. This is the primary purpose of particle accelerators. They are basically machines bulit to focus a lot of energy into a tiny area and observe what strange particles gets created. These particles have mass which far excedes the mass of the input particles.
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