Have you ever thought about the power of a paper clip? If you
could convert the mass of a paper clip entirely to energy, how
big a punch would it pack? Einstein's most famous equation,
E = mc2, indicates the calculation is straightforward: the energy
released would be equivalent to the mass times the speed of
light squared. Yet the answer is far from intuitive because,
for one thing, the speed of light is immense—670 million
mph—making the speed of light squared almost
inconceivable. In this
quiz, discover the answer and explore other examples of what
scientists call mass-energy equivalence.—Susan K. Lewis
