quote:What the equation means is that when energy is converted to matter with mass, then the amount of mass is equal to the amount of energy times the square of the speed of light.
Does is really make sense to say energy is converted to mass or vice versa? This would seem to violate the conservation of energy.
Is it more accurate to say that one form of energy called mass is converted to another form of energy (gamma rays or some other high energy photon?)
I just think a lot of confusion arises when a laymen (like myself and Heinrik) tries to understand the equation if that's not explicitly stated. Otherwise people get the impression that energy can exist in and of itself and doesn't have to be associated with something.