Whats the difference between energy and matter?

[onemind]

Hi, I am quite new to science and have been wondering what the difference between energy and matter is.

Is matter just a bunch of atoms?

And energy is a force?

Are atoms made of energy and if so how can it be called matter when there is only energy?

 

Sorry if these are dumb questions

 

Thanks

[ydoaPs]

matter and energy are different forms of the same thing.

 

mtter doesn't neccesarily have to be in the form of atoms, it could be plasma or particles.

 

i don't know what you mean by energy being a force.

 

matter and energy. [math]E^2=p^2c^4 + m^2c^4[/math]

[onemind]

Thanks yourdadonapogos,

 

That kind of cleared my misconception up a bit. But I am still a little confused.

If matter and energy are different forms of the same thing and matter can be in various forms, then what is energy?

 

Thanks again

[onemind]

Hi again,

 

I've been doing a bit of googling and think i am getting closer to understanding.

I search for define: matter and the first definition was

 

substance: that which has mass and occupies space; "an atom is the smallest indivisible unit of matter"

 

This is what confuses me. It says an atom is the smallest unit of matter but on other sites it says electron, protons and neutrons are clasified as matter and they are smaller than atoms. Also, when you go smaller and get to quarks and neutrinos ect they are matter. And if you kept going and say for arguments sake strings were the smallest things, 1 string would be matter right?

 

So is a string made of energy or is energy just a label for force?

 

 

Sorry, i'm confusing myself even more

[onemind]

Ok, I'll have one more crack at it before i sleep

One of the definitions was

 

"Is the material substance of the universe that has mass, occupies space, and is convertible to energy. "

 

If someone could give me an example of matter turning into energy that could explain energy to me.

 

But i will take a guess.

 

A lump of wood is matter, you set it on fire. The fire turns the wood into heat and heat is a form of energy.

 

Is that right?

If so, can you turn heat back into some kind of matter is is it doomed to stay energy forever?

[swansont]

E=mc^2+pc^2

 

E²=p²c² + m²c⁴

[swansont]

substance: that which has mass and occupies space; "an atom is the smallest indivisible unit of matter"

 

This is what confuses me. It says an atom is the smallest unit of matter but on other sites it says electron' date=' protons and neutrons are clasified as matter and they are smaller than atoms. Also, when you go smaller and get to quarks and neutrinos ect they are matter. And if you kept going and say for arguments sake strings were the smallest things, 1 string would be matter right?

[/quote']

 

That was, IIRC, the Greek definition of an atom back when they were hypothesized. After we understood their structure we also found that there were subatomic particles, but had already locked in to that word.

[Mart]

That was, IIRC, the Greek definition of an atom back when they were hypothesized. After we understood their structure we also found that there were subatomic particles, but had already locked in to that word.

IIRC, in Ancient Greek thought, atomic meant something that could not be cut into smaller parts.

So an atom was some thing that was fundamental.

Modern particle physics has the task of finding out whether there are atomic things or that there are no fundamental (un-cut-up-able) things. Scientists are still investigating the issue.

[ydoaPs]

i have heard the definition of a closed string as a vibrating loop of energy

 

If someone could give me an example of matter turning into energy that could explain energy to me.

 

fission. BOOM!!!!!!!!!!!, YAY!

[jdurg]

Yeah. Atom/Atomic is from the Greek meaning 'without cut'. (Since 'a' means without, and 'tomos' roughly means 'cut'. So atomos means without cut, or 'uncuttable'). As posted earlier, matter is something that has mass and takes up space. So anything that has mass, no matter how small it is, is matter. If it is massless, then it would probably be considered a form of energy. (Though when you get really far down into quantum mechanics and whatnot, the whole area become intensely convoluted). Matter being converted into energy happens all the time. If you look at the decay of a radioactive element and add up the mass of the decay products and compare it to the mass of the parent atom, you'll see that there is a very tiny difference. That small difference in mass, known as the mass defect, is converted into energy. For one atom it doesn't seem like much, but if you have a large mass of those atoms the energy builds up VERY quickly and a LOT of energy is given off. The amount of energy is calculated by Einstein's famous theory of relativity equation.

[reverse]

well I always think of energy as something that can do work.

you know it can power my car or it can burst from the sun to make plants grow.

 

Matter I think of as more solid. it may be as big as planet or as small as a pin.

 

It's all pretty up in the air at the moment as each new smaller division of the classic "atom" is found.

 

It's just one way to get your head around it.

[Daymare17]

The two fundamental attributes of the universe are matter and motion. Matter = mass, substance. Energy = motion.