Tuesday, February 27, 2007

E=mc2

One of my life goals is to understand the equation E=mc2. I'm smart enough to know that only a brain like Einstein's could come up with the equation, but I also know that many more ordinary people can grasp its meaning... people like my son, husband, nephews, nieces, assorted friends and countless others.

I have come tantalizingly close to getting it. If energy and matter are the same thing, then I, who have lots of energy and also mass, have the potential to go nuclear... right?

I think the key here is that I can't go fast enough. The speed of light is staggering. Granted, I move quickly, but there's that troublesome gravity. If only I could get in a weightless situation, I might be able to seriously speed up and create some fusion. Or should that be fission?

I keep reading Richard Feynman and Brian Greene. My son, Christopher, keeps trying his best to explain it all to me. He sees it so clearly. He can bring me just to the brink of understanding. And then bang, I'm back into my black hole of ignorance.

If anybody out there in the universe can clear up this matter, I'm here waiting for your e-mail or comment to this blog.

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