Source : Timesonline
SCIENTISTS have crowned the hundredth anniversary of Albert Einstein’s most famous equation by proving that E=mc² much more accurately than ever before.
Experiments in the United States have confirmed the most celebrated formula in science, which holds that an object’s energy (E) equals its mass (m) multiplied by the square of the speed of light (c), 55 times more precisely than the previous best test. While no one had been expecting Einstein to be proven wrong, physicists said that they were relieved to see his predictions had been borne out so faithfully: a different outcome would have overturned a fundamental element of modern physics.
David Pritchard, Professor of Physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), who led the research, said: “If this equation were found to be even slightly incorrect, the impact would be enormous, given the degree to which it is woven into the theoretical fabric of modern physics and everyday applications such as global positioning systems.â€
In the study, which is published today in the journal Nature, the MIT team measured the mass of silicon and sulphur atoms, while colleagues from the US National Institute of Standards and Technology measured the energy given off by the same atoms. The speed of light did not need special measurement, as it is constant at 299,792,458 metres per second in a vacuum. When both measurements were compared, the researchers found that E differed from mc² at most by 0.4 parts in a million, a result that is “consistent with equalityâ€.
Professor Pritchard said: “Future physicists will undoubtedly subject it to even more precise tests.â€
SCIENTISTS have crowned the hundredth anniversary of Albert Einstein’s most famous equation by proving that E=mc² much more accurately than ever before.
Experiments in the United States have confirmed the most celebrated formula in science, which holds that an object’s energy (E) equals its mass (m) multiplied by the square of the speed of light (c), 55 times more precisely than the previous best test. While no one had been expecting Einstein to be proven wrong, physicists said that they were relieved to see his predictions had been borne out so faithfully: a different outcome would have overturned a fundamental element of modern physics.
David Pritchard, Professor of Physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), who led the research, said: “If this equation were found to be even slightly incorrect, the impact would be enormous, given the degree to which it is woven into the theoretical fabric of modern physics and everyday applications such as global positioning systems.â€
In the study, which is published today in the journal Nature, the MIT team measured the mass of silicon and sulphur atoms, while colleagues from the US National Institute of Standards and Technology measured the energy given off by the same atoms. The speed of light did not need special measurement, as it is constant at 299,792,458 metres per second in a vacuum. When both measurements were compared, the researchers found that E differed from mc² at most by 0.4 parts in a million, a result that is “consistent with equalityâ€.
Professor Pritchard said: “Future physicists will undoubtedly subject it to even more precise tests.â€