Thread: Whats the matter

Please could someone answer me the following - i am a novice concerning science.

Can matter, or more importantly, the constituents of matter, be destroyed?

No. It's all energy, and it just changes forms.

Destruction of from the atomic level of energy may perhaps be feasible

Originally Posted by inow

No. It's all energy, and it just changes forms.

Forgive my lack of knowledge but does that mean that from energy all matter is made?

Originally Posted by johngoodsmith

Originally Posted by inow

No. It's all energy, and it just changes forms.

Forgive my lack of knowledge but does that mean that from energy all matter is made?

in theory yes, as we study the beginnings of our universe we have a theory that at 1rst it was all energy then form this matter formed BIG BANG

Originally Posted by johngoodsmith

Originally Posted by inow

No. It's all energy, and it just changes forms.

Forgive my lack of knowledge but does that mean that from energy all matter is made?

Matter = Energy. They are the same. Matter is just a given form of energy.

This is central to something which you probably have heard of... Einstein's well known E=mc^2.

Right, how a small amount of mass can create a great amount of energy, yet how it takes a lot of energy to make a quantity of mass.

Originally Posted by inow

Originally Posted by johngoodsmith

Originally Posted by inow

No. It's all energy, and it just changes forms.

Forgive my lack of knowledge but does that mean that from energy all matter is made?

Matter = Energy. They are the same. Matter is just a given form of energy.

This is central to something which you probably have heard of... Einstein's well known E=mc^2.

So if matter is energy can i conclude that if the matter of the universe came into being via the big bang from 'pure' energy - can the matter, in theory, be transformed back to pure energy?

Originally Posted by johngoodsmith

Please could someone answer me the following - i am a novice concerning science.

Can matter, or more importantly, the constituents of matter, be destroyed?

In order to answer this question one must know what you mean by matter.
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Originally Posted by kowalskil

Originally Posted by johngoodsmith

Please could someone answer me the following - i am a novice concerning science.

Can matter, or more importantly, the constituents of matter, be destroyed?

In order to answer this question one must know what you mean by matter.
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matter.......real things like rocks, plants, you and me, hydrogen, atoms, etc etc i guess

Please could someone answer me the following - i am a novice concerning science.

Can matter, or more importantly, the constituents of matter, be destroyed?

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In order to answer this question one must know what you mean by matter.


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matter.......real things like rocks, plants, you and me, hydrogen, atoms, etc etc i guess

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In that case my answer is YES. A rock can be destroyed by using a hammer, a plant, or any other living organism, can be destroyed by fire. An atom of hydrogen and an atom of uranium can be destroyed by fusing them (fusion followed by fission), etc.

That is what the word "destroy" means to me.

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By the way, you might enjoy reading and viewing the contents of these two links:

http://www.rainews24.rai.it/it/video.php?id=23096

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NzL3RIlcwbY

Rossi claims to destroy 30% of atoms of nickel by fusing them with atoms of hydrogen. Why I am skeptical? See my own article about this:

http://pages.csam.montclair.edu/~kowalski/cf/rossi.html

Yes, I am a nuclear physicist.

http://pages.csam.montclair.edu/~kow...nterview1.html
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In that case my answer is YES. A rock can be destroyed by using a hammer, a plant, or any other living organism, can be destroyed by fire. An atom of hydrogen and an atom of uranium can be destroyed by fusing them (fusion followed by fission), etc.

That is what the word "destroy" means to me.

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Thank you kindly and i did enjoy reading the articles esp your interview.

I guess i'm trying to understand what was before the big bang - if the big bang bought into being all known mass/matter from energy then can it be reversed and all mass/matter become again pure energy - no mass?
As a layman i would like to try and understand nuclear fusion and fission so if you can recommend any articles that explain it in laymans terms i would appreciate this.

Originally Posted by johngoodsmith

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... I guess i'm trying to understand what was before the big bang - if the big bang bought into being all known mass/matter from energy then can it be reversed and all mass/matter become again pure energy - no mass?
As a layman i would like to try and understand nuclear fusion and fission so if you can recommend any articles that explain it in laymans terms i would appreciate this.

Encyclopedias, published during the last 50 years, usually good articles on fission and fusion. Also some introductory physics textbooks. Sorry for not recommending any specific reference.

Ludwik Kowalski (see Wikipedia)
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