What does E=mC² mean? It is perhaps the most recognized equation in history.  In my university Modern Physics course, Dr. Matt Sands (co-author of The Feynman Lectures on Physics) once stated in lecture that, “matter is just bundled up energy.” This was an amazing concept and changed my understanding of the universe and everything around me.  Einstein had an ability to explain exceedingly complex ideas in terms that people could understand. The simplicity of this equation is no exception.

Most of our experiences with energy are chemical in nature:  a gas stove heats water to a boil, gasoline is converted to a rapidly expanding gas that spins our engines, and chemical reactions lift a rocket into orbit.

However, Einstein taught us that E (energy) and m (matter) are fundamentally equivalent, or interchangeable, via the constant C².  C is the speed of light, which is approximately 3×10⁸ meters/sec. In a simple example, take a matchstick which is about 0.15g, light it and it gives off a small amount of heat caused by the chemical reaction of the match head when struck. Now, let’s convert the matchstick entirely into free energy by multiplying its mass by C² and you have the equivalent energy release of over three thousand tons of TNT!