Serling

So energy is the end all be all lowest common denominator of everything? I still don't know if I understand. If it isn't physical then what is it? Why is there energy instead of...nothing?

Hey all, I have what you would call a layman's knowledge and understanding of scientific topics as I have only, within the past 5+ years, become increasingly curious about the world. The question I have today is simply, what is energy? That is, what is the current consensus on what energy really is? I have searched the internet and also asked one of my college professor's (much to her bewilderment at how to answer such a question) The reason I ask this is because as far as I can tell, all matter in the known universe, at its core, is made of energy. Seemingly, everyone around is is indeed made up of energy. I recall reading about energy being equal to matter or that matter and energy are really the same thing - matter being just 1 form of energy. If that is indeed the case, then what the heck is energy? We can explain matter, to a degree but no one can give me a clear answer of just what energy.....is. Where does energy come from. What I'm really trying to get at is when you look at a chair it is seemingly made of wood. The wood is made up of small atoms which are in turn made up of energy. Well then, what is THAT energy made up of, are we able to see smaller than an electron? As an aside, how the heck does energy *know* how to become a certain kind of matter? How does energy get from...energy to matter and how does that matter become, for example, the wood that makes up a chair? Sorry if my question is a bit long or redundant. I seem to flesh it out as I go along. Hope the stream of consciousness thing doesn't bother you. Thanks to anyone who is able to help me understand this concept.