The four fundamental interactions in physics are gravity, electromagnetism, the strong interaction and the weak interaction. Of these, the strong interaction is by far the strongest, thousands of times as strong as the others. When an atom undergoes fission, it is this energy that is being overcome. It is far more powerful than any chemical reaction.
Energy is related to mass through Einstein's famous equation E=mc^2, which shows that even small amounts of mass can release a large amount of energy when converted. This is due to the speed of light, c, being a huge number, causing any mass to have a significant amount of energy when converted from mass to energy.
Nuclear weapons derive their immense destructive power from the energy released through nuclear fission or fusion processes. These reactions convert a small amount of matter into energy following Einstein's famous equation E=mc^2, where a tiny amount of mass is converted into a significant amount of energy.
Black Hole
black hole
Black Hole
A small area of immense mass in space from which nothing can escape is called a black hole. Black holes are the most mysterious and the strangest objects in the sky.
Because the strong force that binds the nucleons of the nucleus together is roughly 3 orders of magnitude (1000 times) larger than the electromagnetic force that holds the electrons to the atom. Nuclear energy comes from the strong force, while chemical energy comes from the much weaker electromagnetic force.I won't bother to quote Einstein's well known units conversion equation between energy and mass as it tells you nothing unless you know the amount of mass being converted and you do the math. When the strong force is involved about 3 orders of magnitude more mass converts to energy as when the electromagnetic force is involved. Its just simple proportionality.
In the famous equation (E=mc^2), the letter (c) represents the speed of light in a vacuum, which is approximately (299,792,458) meters per second. This constant signifies the relationship between energy (E), mass (m), and the speed of light, indicating that mass can be converted into energy and vice versa. The equation highlights the immense amount of energy contained in even a small amount of mass due to the square of the speed of light, which is a very large number.
In a nuclear explosion, a small mass can have enormous destructive power because of the process of nuclear fission, where the nucleus of an atom is split into smaller parts, releasing a large amount of energy in the form of radiation and heat. This process creates a chain reaction that releases more energy exponentially, leading to a massive explosion even from a small amount of fissile material.
This is due to the mass-energy equivalence principle, described by the famous equation E=mc^2. Even a small amount of mass contains a large amount of potential energy, which can be released as a significant amount of energy through processes like nuclear reactions or nuclear fission.
Because of Einstein's mass energy equivalence equation e = mc2. This say thatthe energy of a mass of one kilogram is equal to about 3x1016 joules. That is alot of energy, and it is equal to about 21.5 megatons of TNT equivalent explosiveforce.Note: This equation is not saying that mass can be converted into energy and vice versa.Mass can neither be created nor destroyed, and the same goes for energy. They can onlybe moved to different frames of reference. What this equation is saying is that mass andenergy are the same thing, depending on your perspective.Also note that energy can indeed be converted into mass and vice versa. Solar energyis converted to mass by plants and mass is lost when energy is released from anyoccurrence.Another perspective, understanding, and opinion:-- The famous equation is suggesting that mass and energy can be convertedto each other. The two 'Conservation' laws for mass and energy are actuallya single law ... the Conservation of Mass-Energy.-- Plants do not convert solar energy into mass. Solar energy drives the processeswherein water, atmospheric gases, and soil minerals are chemically combined toform plant mass.-- The questioner's entire problem is the use of the squishy words "small" and "immense".The energy derived from a sample of mass is not large, small, minuscule, huge, or immense.It is exactly [ mc2 ].
According to Einstein's equation (E=mc^2), the energy contained in a gram of mass is significant. Specifically, 1 gram of mass can be converted to approximately 9 x (10^{13}) joules of energy, as the speed of light (c) is about (3 x 10^8) meters per second. This immense amount of energy illustrates the potential of mass-energy equivalence.