einstein

[micka]

what is e=mc2?

[jenstar]

It's an equation expressing the potential energy stored in matter.

[bobjim1705]

Energy = Mass x The Speed Of Light squard

Just to elaborate a bit, for every bit of matter that something is comprised of, you get one hell of a lot of energy back from it, since the speed of light multiplied by itself is a pretty big number.
A person contains roughly 7,000,000,000,000,000,000 joules of energy.

[MargeB]

bobjms figure is correct, except for Monday mornings, obviously, when it mysteriously shrinks to nothing.

The equation also demonstrates the equivalence of energy and matter...

[dk_psy]

isn't it a bit random to square the speed of light? I don't really understand the point unless energy somehow comes from the speed of light.

Sorry if I am being stupid!

[Loosehead]

Well I don't think Einstien just radomly though that squaring the speed of light was a good idea. It's been universally accepted that the equation correctly represents the total realisable energy from a chunk of matter. 

[ugly_bob]

dk_psy - I think the c^2 bit is due to the kinetic energy of an object being propotional to it's velocity. Might be wrong though.

[fo3nix]

the c2 bit is just due to the units used. it doesn't have to be there if you dont want it to.