I understand it’s “energy equals mass times the speed of light squared”, but it’s always portrayed as the most significant equation.
Is this just because Einstein was a popular figure, or is it particularly important in understanding the universe? Moreso than other equations?
In: Physics
I think your question is just as much why is it significant in pop culture, as well as why is it significant in physics?
It’s significant in pop culture for many reasons. One of them is how famous Einstein became. Everyone knows who he was, but many people don’t actually know that much about his work or what it means. E=mc^(2) is a relatively simple equation with a relatively simple meaning and so people could latch on to it as understanding Einstein’s work. It’s also just such an interesting revelation that mass is (constrained) energy (the c^(2) is just a unit conversion, you could create a new unit system in which c=1 and so E=m).
It is significant in physics because it helps us understand where the mass of a system comes from, or where another type of energy came from. It is fundamental to particle and nuclear physics, which are both foundations of much of other physics and modern technology.
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