Explain the Energy and Mass

Albert Einstein described an intricate relationship between matter and energy.  It is summarized in the famous formula:

E = mc² 

In this equation, E is energy in Joules (J)

M is mass in kilograms (Kg)

And c is the speed of light: 3.00x10⁸ meters per second (m/s).

This formula is quite profound!  After all, Einstein was a pretty smart guy.  It relates two quantities which seem to be completely separate. This formula says that matter can be turned into energy and energy can be transformed into matter.  Weird.

The binding energy of a nucleus is the amount of energy equivalent to the mass difference between the nucleus and the sum of the masses of the particles that make up the nucleus. The binding energy is the amount of energy which should be supplied to break the nucleus into its components.

When radioactive materials undergo nuclear decay, they lose mass.  Here's an analogy to help you remember.  When you break a piece of bread, you loose mass due to crumbs. When a nucleus breaks apart, it also loses mass.  This mass is then converted into lots of energy.

We can utilize the famous Einstein equation to see how much energy is released while radioactive materials g through nuclear change. Calculate how much mass is missing. The missing mass has become energy. Convert mass to energy by using Einstein's formula.

Example 1:

When one mole of radon-222 decays by alpha emission, 5.4 x 10⁸ kJ of energy are released.  How much mass was converted into energy in this reaction?

E =mc²

In this case we are interested in finding the amount of mass

m = E /c²

substitute into the equation for the quantities you know:

m = 5.4 * 10¹¹ j / (3.0 * 10⁸ m /s)²

m=6x10⁶kg

which is the same as 0.006 g.