Total energy of particle?

[Asimov Pupil]

my chemistry teacher said it is impossible to calculate the entire energy of a particle but i disagree. it may sound stupid but i'm still in highschool.

[ydoaPs]

how about [math]E^2=m^2c^4+p^2c^2[/math]

[Asimov Pupil]

not familiar with it. anyone mind explaining that one?

[Johnny5]

my chemistry teacher said it is impossible to calculate the entire energy of a particle but i disagree. it may sound stupid but i'm still in highschool.

 

The energy of a photon (which is a particle of light) is given by the following formula, in the rest frame of a laser:

 

[math] E = hf [/math]

 

The symbol h denotes Planck's temporal constant of nature. That means that its difference taken over any two consecutive moments in time must be zero, i.e.

 

[math] \Delta h = 0 [/math]

 

The symbol f denotes the frequency of the photon, and this varies from photon to photon. The point is, since photons are particles, and their energy is given by the quantum mechanical relation above, it certainly is possible to calculuate the energy of a particle.

 

Regards

[Severian]

my chemistry teacher said it is impossible to calculate the entire energy of a particle but i disagree. it may sound stupid but i'm still in highschool.

 

Energy is a frame dependent concept - it changes from frame to frame. But in any given frame one can measure the energy of most particles to reasonable precision. This has been done in high energy physics experiments for decades.