Can Energy be Converted Directly Into Mass?

Most recent answer: 03/20/2010

Q:
if mass can be converted directly into energy then can enery be converted directly into mass?
- kurt egger (age 58)
fort lupton co
A:
Yes, but it's not trivial.  If you collide high energy particles, say at an accelerator like Fermilab near Chicago or the Large Hadron Collier in Geneva, many particles with mass are produced.  These accelerators are expensive and the total amount of mass produced is very small.  The main usefulness is not the amount of mass produced but the information that physicists can obtain by studying the properties and distributions of the produced particles. 

LeeH

(published on 03/20/2010)