Converting mass to energy
Professor
Einstein found the secret to a star’s energy:
the
equivalence of mass and energy E=mc2
This equation means that if you can manage
it, you can convert a little bit of mass into a lot of energy:
Units:
ergs=gm(cm/s) 2 ; c2~1020
(assuming perfect efficiency)
Actually, the hydrogen fusion the Sun uses is only 0.7%
efficient, so the fuel requirement to power the Sun is
6x
1014 gm/s or 700 million tons
per sec!
Since the Sun’s mass is 2x 1033 gm, it can last for 1012 years at that rate…