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E = mc2 means that energy and mass are 2 forms of the same thing. In the equation, E stands for energy, m for mass and c for the speed of light. In a nuclear reaction, the nuclei of unstable atoms such as Uranium-236 break into 2 daughter nuclei and free neutrons. However, not all of the mass of the parent nucleus is transferred to these particles. A small amount is converted to heat energy according to this equation. Because the speed of light is such a large quantity (around 300,000 m/s), and it is then squared, a very small amount of mass can be converted into vast quantities of energy. In the 'Little Boy' bomb dropped on Hiroshima in World War 2, around 0.6g of mass was converted to energy, yet it released energy equivalent to the detonation of between 13,000 and 18,000 tons of TNT.

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Q: What does Einsteins E equals mc2 have to do with nuclear reactions?
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