E=mc^2 Verified In Quantum Chromodynamic Calculation

chirishnique and other readers sent in a story in AFP about a heroic supercomputer computation that has verified Einstein's most famous equation at the level of subatomic particles for the first time. "A brainpower consortium led by Laurent Lellouch of France's Centre for Theoretical Physics, using some of the world's mightiest supercomputers, have set down the calculations for estimating the mass of protons and neutrons, the particles at the nucleus of atoms. ... [T]he mass of gluons is zero and the mass of quarks is only five per cent. Where, therefore, is the missing 95 per cent? The answer, according to the study published in the US journal Science on Thursday, comes from the energy from the movements and interactions of quarks and gluons. ... [E]nergy and mass are equivalent, as Einstein proposed in his Special Theory of Relativity in 1905." Update: 11/21 15:50 GMT by KD : New Scientist has a slightly more technical look at the accomplishment.

Comments

Re:Pretty cool

[bradkittenbrink]

To me, it sounds more like verifying that Quantum Chromodynamics isn't inconsistent...

Re:Pretty cool

[invisiblerhino]

It's not quite that simple. QCD is a quantum field theory, so E=mc^2 is "built in". Really, the point is that experimental results (i.e. proton and neutron mass) are confirmed and a clear explanation for this "mass discrepancy" given. I wouldn't say it's proven, since lattice QCD is a (very very good) approximation to an exact theory.

Its NOT E=mc^2

[Lawrence_Bird]

the correct statement is: E^2=m^2c^4 + p^2c^2

Re:Mathmatically verifiable

[Ambitwistor]

Science can't tell you whether some theoretical construct is "really" there. That's a matter of philosophical definition. All science can tell you is whether the predictions of theories agree with what is observed in the world.

Re:I've only got one thing to say...

[digitig]

Newtonian Mechanics as it's taught in schools is wrong at any scale. Newtonian Mechanics as Newton stated it is still valid when relativity is taken into account. Newton didn't state "F = MA", he said that "force is proportional to the rate of change of momentum". A 1kg mass accelerated by 10 neutons for 1 second from stationary will not be traveling at 10 m/s, but it will no longer be a 1kg mass either. The momentum will still be 10 newton seconds, though, just as Newton said it would be.