Introduction
The conservation of matter and energy means that the total amount of energy and the total amount of matter is always constant in a given closed, isolated system. In other words, neither energy nor mass can be created or destroyed in any physical or chemical process.
But, as physics and science increased its parameters with the advance of technology,nuclear reactions were discovered, and it was discovered that in nuclear fusion and fission reactions, the total mass of reactants does not equal to the total mass of the products obtained. For example, in the following nuclear fusion reaction,
4H → 2He,
There is a difference between the mass of the reactants, that is, four atoms of Hydrogen, and the mass of the products, that is, one atom of Helium. This difference can be clearly depicted by the following diagram:-
The difference in the mass could not be explained by any laws, and furthermore, it was a direct failure of the law of conservation of mass. Huge amount of energy was produced in the above reaction, and this "creation" of energy and in was certainly a setback to the law of conservation of energy. But in 1905, Albert Einstein pointed out that in the chemical reactions like above, the difference in mass of the reactants and products is balanced by the release of energy, that is, some mass of the reactants was converted into energy, and since matter and energy are the same thing, conversion of matter into energy cannot be regarded as the creation of energy. He also gave the formula to calculate the amount of energy produced as follows:-
`e = mc^2` .
Thus, the law of conservation of energy and the law of conservation of matter were combined, to form the law of conservation of matter and energy. Note that the term "The Law of Conservation of Energy" implies the law of conservation of matter and energy.
The conservation of matter and energy means that the total amount of energy and the total amount of matter is always constant in a given closed, isolated system. In other words, neither energy nor mass can be created or destroyed in any physical or chemical process.
Formation of the law of conservation of matter and energy
Until the discovery of mass - energy equivalence by Albert Einstein in 1905, conservation of matter and conservation of energy were two different conservation laws. Conservation of matter implied that matter can neither be created nor destroyed, and conservation of energy implied that energy can neither be created nor destroyed. The two were not related to each other in any aspect except that they were both conversations laws.But, as physics and science increased its parameters with the advance of technology,nuclear reactions were discovered, and it was discovered that in nuclear fusion and fission reactions, the total mass of reactants does not equal to the total mass of the products obtained. For example, in the following nuclear fusion reaction,
4H → 2He,
There is a difference between the mass of the reactants, that is, four atoms of Hydrogen, and the mass of the products, that is, one atom of Helium. This difference can be clearly depicted by the following diagram:-
The difference in the mass could not be explained by any laws, and furthermore, it was a direct failure of the law of conservation of mass. Huge amount of energy was produced in the above reaction, and this "creation" of energy and in was certainly a setback to the law of conservation of energy. But in 1905, Albert Einstein pointed out that in the chemical reactions like above, the difference in mass of the reactants and products is balanced by the release of energy, that is, some mass of the reactants was converted into energy, and since matter and energy are the same thing, conversion of matter into energy cannot be regarded as the creation of energy. He also gave the formula to calculate the amount of energy produced as follows:-
`e = mc^2` .
Conservation of Matter and Energy : Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein pointed out that matter and energy are the same thing, and matter can be converted to energy. Thus, if energy is being "produced" in a nuclear reaction, although the total calculated amount of energy is increasing, but since the calculated amount of mass is decreasing, and matter and energy are the same thing, therefore the total energy of the system can be regarded as constant.Thus, the law of conservation of energy and the law of conservation of matter were combined, to form the law of conservation of matter and energy. Note that the term "The Law of Conservation of Energy" implies the law of conservation of matter and energy.
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