I agree that if you derive the formula from that traditional perspective, then the velocity term must be squared in order to get the right energy value.

An old saying goes that, “there is more than one way to skin a cat.”
As a simile, lets say that both of us were going to some city, lets say Seattle as our destination, now you have taken a train and I have taken a car, but we both end up in the same city.
Your calculations are a culmination of other peoples work. The train is being controlled by someone else.
Where as I derived a formula that gives the same result as the one you use. I’m driving the car, and learned to drive by reading the instructions from the previously mentioned book.

Thanks for the link, it contains a good explanation of the traditional way of understanding the solution to the formula. (If you want to go by train.;-)

Christliche Jugend

A Joule is defined in units of kilogram times meters squared per seconds squared.

This doesn’t come from Einstein, it comes from the vis-viva equation,(E = 1/2 mv**2) developed by Leibniz in the 17th century for classical physics applications in orbital mechanics.

To put it in plain English, a object of mass m (kilos) traveling at a velocity v (meters per second) has a kinetic energy of E (Joules). Example: a 2 kilogram mass falling at a 3 meters per second has a kinetic energy due to motion of 9 Joules.

Einstein’s E = mc**2 for the TOTAL energy inherent in any mass has a square term in it so the Energy term will come out in the right units. Example: a 1 kilogram mass can be converted to 9×10**16 Joules of Energy.

It is merely a mathematical consequence which is inevitable from the derivation of the equation, there is nothing magical about it.

see for yourself

http://www.karlscalculus.org/einstein.html

When it comes to this subject, people have many miss-understandings and what I would call non-understandings.

Would it not make sense that if God had eternity of time to think about things He would be able to make everything work fairly well once He decided to create something?
Most of us are able to create things, and creation starts with a thought.

You say that the universe started with a big bang, but do you know why there would be an explosion? I have heard that if you gather together enough mass, then you will simply have a big blackhole that does not even let light out of there.

The most common answer is “god always existed.” But then why couldn’t matter and the universe always have existed? And what did god do FOR ALL ETERNITY before one day deciding to create something besides himself?

Sorry Johannes, this argument has been tossed into the philosophical trash long ago.

The universe is here, it’s pretty stable, and the rule books are written (we haven’t seen all the pages yet).

Same for the human race, really.

I’m more concerned about where things are going than where it all came from.

This is why I have some faith in the scientific explanation. You don’t need a creator to have creation. That’s just strange enough to be true.

Pull my finger.