H Veeder <[email protected]> wrote:
> Does it necessarily follow that every mass-energy conversion must have a > nuclear _origin_? The answer is no > because if the principle of mass-energy equivalency is applied rigorously > to chemical reactions, some mass-energy conversion will occur although it > can be safely ignored because the amount converted is vanishingly small. > All sources and forms of energy always convert mass to energy, always in the same ratio. That includes all mechanical, chemical and nuclear energy. As far as I know, it is not yet possible to measure the lost mass from any energy system. Even a reaction with Pu-238 lasting many years would not produce a measurable change in mass. Other tiny relativistic effects have been measured, such as the time change in an atomic clock moved 20 meters down closer to the earth. This is caused by increased gravitational force. - Jed
