Question

Determine the amount of energy released (in MeV) due to the loss of mass of 0.5 kg.

Answer 1

Given Data:

Loss of mass (Δm) = 0.5 kg

Speed of light (c) = 3 × 10⁸ m/s

Conversion factor (1 MeV) = 1.6 × 10⁻¹³ J

1. Calculate Energy in Joules (E):

Using Einstein's mass-energy equivalence equation:

E = Δm × c²

= 0.5 × (3 × 10⁸)²

= 0.5 × 9 × 10¹⁶

= 4.5 × 10¹⁶ J

2. Convert Energy to MeV:

E (in MeV) = `(4.5 xx 10^16 J)/(1.6 xx 10^-13 J//MeV)`

= 2.8125 × 10²⁹ MeV

The amount of energy released is 2.8125 × 10²⁹ MeV.