If E=MC2 then isnt it possible to travel the speed of light by using nucular power by the equation √e/m=c?

Question

If E=MC2 then isnt it possible to travel the speed of light by using nucular power by the equation √e/m=c?

Answer 1

No.

Physics is not the process of looking up equations in textbooks. It is a set of concepts which can be expressed algebraically. In this case, E is the rest energy of the body, m is the rest mass, and c is the invariant speed. The equation is merely a conversion factor between rest energy and mass. Shuffling around the factors just expresses this conversion in slightly different form. The fact that some combination of E and m comes out to be c doesn't mean you can go the speed of light. E=mc^2 is an equation describing a mass at rest, and it always will be, no matter what you do to it algebraically.

Answer 2

no...that makes no sense at all.

that equation has absolutely nothing to do with the speed of a particle. it just says that energy equals mass times the speed of light squared. the equation you gave would just be a way to verify the speed of light.

as something accelerates, it gains energy and therefore mass. at the speed of light the mass would be infinite, which is impossible. so traveling at the speed of light is impossible.

Answer 3

All the equation sqrt(E/m) = c says is that if any given amount of mass (in kg) is converted to energy (in J) the square root of their ratio will always be c (in m/s).

Answer 4

Special relativity says that the only way something can travel the speed of light is if it has zero mass.

Answer 5

Let's take a closer look - first, e/m would have to necessarily be a HUGE number in order for its square root to equal C.

That means the energy is necessarily HUGE and the mass in very, very small - and herein lies the conundrum - The amount of energy that would be needed if ALL of the mass were converted to energy will leave us with a denominator of zero (that's a bad thing) and as we approach zero, the energy needed just keeps decreasing because C is a constant, and if the denominator gets smaller, so must the numerator.

Light is an example of zero mass propagation - and as the name implies, it travels at C.