Does Heat Energy Increase the Rest Mass of a Substance?

In summary, if you heat up a substance, it masses slightly more due to the energy in the form of heat.
  • #1
nhmllr
185
1
I've heard that if you heat up a substance it masses very slightly more, because of E = mc2, and the ebergy added is in the form of heat
I am just curious - could you also think of it as m = m0 / [tex]\sqrt{1 - v^2 / c^2}[/tex] because heat energy is just really diffuse kinetic energy on a molecular scale, and the small sums of all of the masses added is measurable given extremely precise instruments?
 
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  • #2
I would assume you are correct, but remember that having more mass doesn't change the rest mass, or invariant mass, or whatever you want to call it.
 
  • #3
Drakkith said:
I would assume you are correct, but remember that having more mass doesn't change the rest mass, or invariant mass, or whatever you want to call it.

Right, but rest mass is the mass measured by an object also moving at the same velocity, which is impossible when ever molecule has a different velocity vector.
 
  • #4
Drakkith said:
I would assume you are correct, but remember that having more mass doesn't change the rest mass, or invariant mass, or whatever you want to call it.

If you add heat to a body, you *do* increase its rest mass.

To take the simplest nontrivial case, suppose you have a system of two particles, each of rest mass m, moving in opposite directions at speed v. Taken as a single unit, these two particles have a rest mass of more than 2m.
 
  • #5
bcrowell said:
If you add heat to a body, you *do* increase its rest mass.

To take the simplest nontrivial case, suppose you have a system of two particles, each of rest mass m, moving in opposite directions at speed v. Taken as a single unit, these two particles have a rest mass of more than 2m.

Ah ok. I was thinking of adding energy in the form of velocity to the whole object, not heat. Sorry.
 

FAQ: Does Heat Energy Increase the Rest Mass of a Substance?

How does energy impact mass?

The theory of relativity states that as an object's energy increases, so does its mass. This is known as the mass-energy equivalence or E=mc², where c is the speed of light.

Why does mass increase with energy?

As an object's energy increases, it moves faster and its momentum increases. According to the theory of relativity, mass is a measure of an object's resistance to acceleration, so as its momentum increases, so does its mass.

Is energy converted into mass?

Yes, energy and mass are interchangeable. This was first proposed by Albert Einstein in his famous equation, E=mc². This means that any form of energy, whether it be kinetic, potential, or thermal, has an equivalent mass.

Can an object's mass increase indefinitely with energy?

No, according to the theory of relativity, an object's mass can only increase up to a certain point. As an object approaches the speed of light, its mass would increase infinitely and require an infinite amount of energy to accelerate it further.

How is mass-energy equivalence applied in everyday life?

The concept of mass-energy equivalence is used in nuclear reactions, where a small amount of mass is converted into a large amount of energy. This is how nuclear power plants generate electricity and how nuclear weapons release immense amounts of destructive energy.

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