100th Anniversary of E=mc^2

Starker_Kull writes "E=mc^2 was published as part of Einstein's theory of Special Relativity 100 years ago today." From the article: "In 1905, it was final proof of the genius and imagination of a young German-born scientist who had yet to land a university post. It seems so simple: three letters standing for energy, mass, and the speed of light, brought together with the tightness of a soundbite."

Re:Tip of the iceberg

[PD]

Evidence can be irrefutable, and that is what the original sentence said. The theory of atoms is a couple thousand years old, but Einstein merely gave that theory a boost which couldn't be explained any other way, hence the word "irrefutable" would apply.

How superficial we are ...

[Anonymous Coward]

three letters standing for energy, mass, and the speed of light, brought together with the tightness of a soundbite.

Which is my problem with it. Everyone gushes and coos over E=mc^2, like it was the point of Special Relativity. Like if you understand E=mc^2, you understand relativity. It's not. It's a lemma. An "oh, by the way, since we have spent all this effort proving this other, main point, then, with only a trivial amount of extra work, we can prove this too."

Even when you think about it, the big deal about E=mc^2 isn't the equation either - it's the concept that mass and energy are *the same thing* not just "interconvertable" but *the same*. As in the mass of the proton is not from the just mass of the quarks, but in large part from their interaction energy. The c^2 is just a conversion factor. Sure it's big, but besides that it's just a conversion factor.

I'm not knocking E=mc^2 - it's a great discovery. I'm just annoyed at the general public for thinking that E=mc^2 is what relativity is all about. Our "soundbite culture" and all of that. Something deeply profound, interesting and amazing about the fundamental charachter of our universe is reduced to "E=mc^2! Aren't I smart!" glibness.