Is matter a form of energy?

Question

the law of conservation of energy states that energy can not be created or destroyed, it can only be changed from one form to another.

enisten's theroy of relativity says,

E= mc^2

it means that mass and energy are interconvetible

but doesn't it contradict the law of conservation of energy?

i mean with enough speed u can change mass into energy, does the potential energy of the body changed or the mass itself?

Answer 1

matter is energy sensed by senses.

Answer 2

yes, its a form of energy

Answer 3

Matter and energy are interchangable because they are essentially the same thing in different forms.

The difference is that other forms of energy do not have mass... only matter has mass.

This is similar to light having electromagnetic properties while other forms of energy do not...

Different forms of energy have different properties!

Answer 4

Hi there,

       It does not contradict the law of conservation of energy.  

E=mc^2 just means that if you turn mass into energy and you can turn energy into mass (both are commonly done via nuclear reactions).  Speeding up an object has nothing to do with E=mc^2 and doesn't contradict the law of conservation of energy since the energy you impart onto the object has to come from somewhere else (i.e. electrical energy).  

Think of Matter as a very good form of storing energy, like a battery storing electrical energy, but Matter contains a much higher energy density.  If you are to extract the energy from matter then you would be left with all the energy that was stored in the form of matter.

The Big Bang Theory predicts that in the beginning of the universe all energy was stored as just energy (photons which are massless).  As time went on and the universe expanded and 'cooled off' Matter began to form (storing this energy).

Answer 5

Yes You can say that. Matter is energy in two ways, One way it holds energy which it is capable of releasing like chemical energy. Another is as per Einstein's equation viz., E = m.c^2.



In either case I do not see any violation of "Energy can not be created or destroyed - of course by we mortals. God gave as matter and energy like a fixed deposit in a bank. Your FD may change hands but the total remains, so is matte and energy. balance

Answer 6

There are a lot of interesting theories in physics. Matter exists as a state of energy, while waves of probability spread throughout the universe. Existence itself may exist as only the vibrations on microscopic, trans-dimensional strings. Here are some of the most interesting theories, to my mind, in modern physics (in no particular order, despite the enumeration).

Wave Particle Duality

Matter and light have properties of both waves and particles simultaneously. The results of quantum mechanics make it clear that waves exhibit particle-like properties and particles exhibit wave-like properties, depending on the specific experiment. Quantum physics is therefore able to make descriptions of matter and energy based on wave equations that relate to the probability of a particle existing in a certain spot at a certain time.

Answer 7

matter is the engine of energy light is matter burning out sent from the sun just as a matter of interest next time you see the sun shinning through the window shut it off and allow a small amount of light through,  it looks like a laser stream/line of light, concentrate on the line of light and you will see the floating particles in the air only where the light is hundreds of thousands of floating particles, matter is a million times smaller i explain it to be (simple terms) the engine of light its run with heat (fuel) / energy and when the heat as gone you get darkness the energy has gone untill heat returns to energise the matter all over again.