The following sections of this BookRags Literature Study Guide is offprint from Gale's For Students Series: Presenting Analysis, Context, and Criticism on Commonly Studied Works: Introduction, Author Biography, Plot Summary, Characters, Themes, Style, Historical Context, Critical Overview, Criticism and Critical Essays, Media Adaptations, Topics for Further Study, Compare & Contrast, What Do I Read Next?, For Further Study, and Sources.
(c)1998-2002; (c)2002 by Gale. Gale is an imprint of The Gale Group, Inc., a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. Gale and Design and Thomson Learning are trademarks used herein under license.
The following sections, if they exist, are offprint from Beacham's Encyclopedia of Popular Fiction: "Social Concerns", "Thematic Overview", "Techniques", "Literary Precedents", "Key Questions", "Related Titles", "Adaptations", "Related Web Sites". (c)1994-2005, by Walton Beacham.
The following sections, if they exist, are offprint from Beacham's Guide to Literature for Young Adults: "About the Author", "Overview", "Setting", "Literary Qualities", "Social Sensitivity", "Topics for Discussion", "Ideas for Reports and Papers". (c)1994-2005, by Walton Beacham.
All other sections in this Literature Study Guide are owned and copyrighted by BookRags, Inc.
Mass and energy are terms often used in physics calculations. While they were assumed to be interrelated quantities from their inception, it was only with the development of Einstein's theory of relativity that their truly intertwined nature became known, with the famous equation E = mc2.
The concept of mass can be dealt with in more than one way. Inertial mass is the reaction an object or particle has to being accelerated or decelerated. That is, it is the expression of Newton's concept of inertia. Gravitational mass expresses the reaction an object has to being in a gravitational field. While there is nothing in theory that says these two quantities must be the same, the most sensitive of physical tests have found that they are.
Energy also comes in several forms. Kinetic energy is the energy a particle has due to its motion. Potential energy is due to chemical bonds, gravitational attraction, electromagnetic attraction, and other considerations.
Conservation of mass and energy are separate principles at low speeds. At high speeds (near the speed of light) they become one unified principle. Either way, these conservation laws are essential to giving quantitative solutions to physical problems. Energy conservation equations exist in algebraic and differential forms, and are used regularly in almost all physics and engineering applications.