1

Newtonian Mechanics
1 2 2 c) v 2 v0 2a( x x0 ) at 2 Basic equations of motion used in most kinematics problems. Equation c useful for problems where time is not known. May need to use combination of these equations to solve the problem. Note that for free-fall problems a=-g. For projectile problems, separate into x and y dimensions and solve separately. Remember that velocity and acceleration are vectors.

1) a) v

v0

at

b) x

x0

v0 t

2) F Fnet ma Newtons second law of motion. Remember that force and acceleration are vectors. If multiple forces are present, solve independently for each force and combine for vector sum. Use free body diagrams to determine the net force dont try to solve for acceleration until you have determined the net force via vector methods. 3) F fric
N

Force of friction depends on the coefficient of friction ( ) and the normal force (N). Normal force is always perpendicular to the surface in question e.g. need to use trigonometry to find N for inclined plane. Note that ( ) is usually different for kinetic (moving) friction and for static (stationary) friction it takes more force to start an object moving than to keep it moving.
v2 r Centripetal acceleration. Direction is always toward the center of the circle of radius r. (v) is the tangential speed at any point. Note that for rotational motion, the magnitude of the velocity is constant, but acceleration 0 since the direction of the velocity is changing.

4) a c

5) rF sin Torque equation. Here r is the distance from force to object and F is magnitude of the force. r sin is known as the moment arm distance. In many problems, the force is perpendicular to r and sin =1 so the moment arm = r and rF . 6) p mv Definition of linear momentum. Remember that momentum is a vector quantity, with the direction determined by the direction of the velocity. Remember law of conservation of momentum (p before p after ) which is very useful in solving collision problems. Linear momentum is always conserved during collisions unless there are external forces acting.
p 7) J F t Definition of Impulse. Note that impulse is a vector quantity with direction determined by the direction of the force or direction of momentum. Impulse is useful in solving

2 problems where the force acts for a short time, but is not constant here the change in momentum equals the average force times the time ( p Favg t ) . Typical examples would include bat hitting a baseball, ball bouncing off wall, etc.
1 2 mv 2 Definition of kinetic energy. Note that energy (in general) is a scalar quantity. Kinetic energy is scalar even though it is a function of a vector quantity (velocity). Remember the law of conservation of energy kinetic and potential energy (next equation) calculations can be used to solve many mechanics problems in a simple and elegant way.

8) K

9) U g mgh Gravitational potential energy. Potential energy is defined as the ability to do work. As an object falls, the gravitational potential energy is converted to kinetic energy you can use this equivalence to determine the speed of a falling object as a function of distance fallen. 10) W F r F r cos Definition of work. Work is a measure of energy and is a scalar even though it is a function of two vectors (Force and displacement). The first equation in the AP equation sheet ( F r ) expresses work as a vector operation called a dot product or scalar product we did not use this expression in our class, but it is equivalent to the second expression ( F r cos ). Work is determined by the force acting in the direction of the displacement (this is the role of the cos term). In many examples the force is parallel to the displacement and cos = 1, so W F r . Likewise, if the force is perpendicular to the displacement, no work is done by that force. Note that total work done over any closed path in a conservative force field (like a gravitational or electric field) is zero you may see a question pertaining to this.
W t Definition of power. Power is defined as work (or energy) per unit time. You can use this equation to determine energy produced (or consumed) if you know the average power and the time in question.

11) Pavg

12) P F v Fv cos Power expressed as a function of force and velocity. The first expression ( F v ) is another dot product expression (see #10). We used the second expression ( Fv cos ). This equation is useful for determined the power taken to maintain a given speed typical problem would be to determine the power it takes for a car to maintain a certain speed while climbing a hill of a certain pitch. To use this equation, you must determine the net force which is acting parallel to the velocity (see example in text on page 171). 13) Fs
kx

3 Force exerted by a spring. k is the spring constant and x represents the displacement (stretch or compression) from the equilibrium position. 1 2 14) U s kx 2 Potential energy of a stretched (or compressed) spring. As a spring system oscillates the potential energy is converted into kinetic energy this can be used to compute the velocity at any point in the oscillation.

m k Period of oscillation of a spring system. Note that the period depends only on the mass and the spring constant (not on the amount of displacement).

15) Ts

l g Period of a pendulum. Note that the period is independent of the mass of the pendulum and the arc of the swing (true for relatively small arcs).
16) T p

1 f Period vs frequency for any type of periodic motion. This expression applies to wave motion, simple harmonic motion (pendulum, spring) etc.

17) T

Gm1 m2 r2 Newtons law of gravitation. Useful in celestial mechanics calculations what is the weight of something on the moon?, etc. Note that this expression provides another way to determine g (acceleration due to gravity). Remember that the distance r is the distance between centers of the objects and that you can generally assume that all the mass of the object is concentrated at its center.

18) FG

Gm1 m2 r General expression for gravitational potential energy. Used in celestial mechanics calculations (large objects (planets) and large distances). In calculations near the surface of the earth equation 9 ( U g mgh ) is more useful.

18) U G

Electricity and Magnetism

q1 q 2 4 0 r2 Coulombs Law for the electrostatic force. Note that this is an inverse square force 1 (F ), just like the gravitational force. The electrostatic force is conservative the r2 total work done around any closed path in the force field is zero. If many of our problems qq we used the expression F k 1 2 2 where k = 9x109 N m2/C2. This is different r 1 representation of the same law and thus k = 4 0

19) F

F q Definition of the electric field. Note that the electric field is a vector quantity and represents the direction that a positive charge would move if placed in the field (a negative charge always moves against the direction of the E field). E fields can be represented by field lines drawn between the charges producing the field (starting at the positive charges and ending on the negative charges. Electric fields are measured units of Newtons/Coulomb or Volts/meter.

20) E

q1 q 2 4 0 r Definition of electric potential energy. Here V represents the electric potential measured in volts. (see equation 23 below for an expression for V.) UE can be used in conservation of energy calculations to determine the velocity of particles (such as electrons) accelerated by an electric field (set the potential energy = kinetic energy of the accelerated particle)

21) U E

QV

V d Expression relating the electric field to the electric potential. This expression can be useful in determining the E field between charged plates.

22) E avg

qi 4 0 ri Electric potential of a collection of point charges (qi). In using this equation, find the potential due each individual charge separately and sum to get the total potential. Only differences in potential can actually be measured. To determine other factors such as force, you will need to know the potential difference, so in most problems you will be given the potential difference or told that the potential at some point is zero (usually at r in electrostatics problems). Determining the potential of other arrays of charges

23) V

5 (cubes, cylinders, etc.) is a more complicated calculation involving integral calculus, but based on the same basic principle you wont be asked for this on the AP exam. Q 24) C V Definition of capacitance the unit of capacitance is the Farad, but it represents such a large amount of capacitance most capacitors are measured in micro (10-6) or pico (10-12) farads. A capacitor has the ability to store electric charge this expression relates the amount of charge that can be stored (Q) to the capacitance and the electric potential difference (V) between the plates of the capacitor.
A d Capacitance of a parallel plate capacitor. In this expression the capacitor is assumed to consist of 2 parallel plates, each of area A, separated by a distance d.

25) C

1 1 QV CV 2 2 2 Potential energy stored in a charged capacitor. The stored potential energy has the ability to do work e.g. lighting a flash on a camera.

26) U C

Q t Definition of the electric current. Electric current is defined as charge/unit time or Coulombs/second. Current is usually measured in Amps (1 Amp = 1 Coulomb/second). If you are given a problem stating the flow of electrons in a conductor, you can determine the current with this expression.

27) I avg

A Electrical resistance of a substance. Here represents the resistivity of the substance (ohms/meter), A is the cross-sectional area of the substance and is the length. In AP test problems, you will be either given the value of or asked to compute it, given other factors.
28) R 29) V IR Ohms law. The basic equation of electronics, relating voltage (electric potential) to current and resistance. Ohms law allows you to solve for V, I, or R, given 2 of the 3 variables. Simple circuits can usually be solved by using Ohms law and the equations for series and parallel resistors (equations 33 and 34). More complicated circuits (e.g. multiple voltage sources) usually must be solved using Kirchoffs Rules in addition to Ohms law. Note that Kirchoffs Rules are not shown on the AP equation sheet, so you need to remember them fortunately, theyre pretty simple: Kirchoffs Junction Rule: sum of all currents entering or leaving any junction is zero (or total current in = total current out).

6 Kirchoffs Loop Rule: sum of all voltage drops around any continuous circuit loop = zero. 30) P IV Power in an electric circuit. Remember to use the correct values for I and V when using this equation e.g. when determining the power dissipated by a single resistor in a larger circuit, I is the current through the resistor (not necessarily the total current in the circuit) and V is the voltage difference across the resistor (not the total voltage of the circuit). In many cases, a more useful expression for the power dissipated by a resistor is P I 2 R , where I is the current through the resistor and R is the resistance. 31) C p
i

Ci

Total capacitance of a group of capacitors connected in parallel. Note that this is a similar expression to that for a group of series resistors.
1 1 Cs i Ci Total capacitance of a group of capacitors connected in series. Note that this is a similar expression to that for a group of parallel resistors.

32)

33) Rs
i

Ri

Total resistance of a group of resistors connected in series. Note that this is a similar expression to that for a group of parallel capacitors.
1 1 Rp i Ri Total resistance of a group of resistors connected in parallel. Note that this is a similar expression to that for a group of series capacitors. Two additional equations (not shown on the AP sheet) are simpler and quicker for special cases (these equations can be derived from the general equation). R1 R2 a) If only two resistors are connected in parallel then R p R1 R2 R b) If all parallel resistors are equal then R p where n = number of parallel resistors n and R is the resistance of each resistor.

34)

35) FB qvB sin Force on a moving charge in a magnetic field. This is vector equation where the direction of FB is given by the right hand rule (FB is perpendicular to both v and B). FB is sometimes called the Lorentz Force. The angle is the angle between the velocity vector and the direction of the B field. Note that if the charge is moving parallel to the magnetic field, there is no Lorentz Force ( 0 and thus sin 0 ). Many problems will

7 be defined such that the velocity and magnetic fields are perpendicular to each other and so sin 1 and FB qvB . Note also that if the charge is not moving, there is no Lorentz Force. 36) FB BI sin Force on a current carrying wire in a magnetic field. This is also a vector equation with the direction of FB given by the right hand rule. Here represents the angle between the direction of the current vector and the direction of the B field. If the current is parallel to the direction of the B field, FB = 0. represents the length of the wire carrying the current. Note that since the wire is carrying a moving charge (current is flowing through it), this force is a special case of the Lorentz Force acting on the electrons inside the wire, which causes a net force on the wire.
I 2 r Magnetic field created by a current carrying wire (also known as Biot and Savarts law.) This equation applies to a long straight wire and applies as long as r is much less than the length of the wire. The direction of the B field can be determined by curling your right hand around the wire with your thumb in the direction of the current your fingers will curl in the direction of the field (the field lines form concentric circles with the wire at the center). This equation is a particular example of the general principle that an electric current produces a magnetic field the expressions for other configurations than a straight wire are more complicated and not part of the AP test material.

37) B

38) m B A BA cos Magnet flux through an area. Another dot product equation. B and A are both vectors here, but the magnetic flux ( m ) is a scalar. Here represents the angle between the direction of the magnet field vector (B) and a vector that is perpendicular to the plane of the area (A). This may be tough to visualize so see figure 21-3 on page 624 of the text. It may make more sense to you to think of magnetic flux as the product of the area and the portion of the B field that is perpendicular to the plane of the area. In many cases the problem will be stated such that B is perpendicular to the plane of the area, so the cosine factor =1 and m BA . If the B field is parallel to the plane of the area, the magnetic flux is zero. Magnetic flux is a key factor in determining the value of induced EMF (see equation 39). 39)
m avg

t Faradays law of induction. The AP test focuses on the specific case of computing the average EMF using Faradays law. Note that no EMF is produced unless the magnetic flux changes. The minus sign in the equation indicates that the induced EMF will produce a current whose magnetic field opposes the change in magnetic flux that produced it (Lenzs law). Note that this does not mean that the direction of the field due to the induced current is always in the opposite direction of the magnetic flux if the induced

8 current is caused by a negative change in magnetic flux (i.e. the flux is decreasing), the field of the induced current will be in the same direction as the magnetic flux (it will act to prevent the flux from decreasing). The opposite is true if the induced current is caused by a positive change in flux here the magnetic field of the induced current will be opposite the field causing the flux. (Remember the discussion we had in class about this) 40) Bv Motional EMF caused by moving a conductor in a magnetic field. Here is the length of the conductor and v is the velocity. In the cases covered in AP physics, the velocity vector will be perpendicular to the magnetic (B) field. If the motion is parallel to the magnetic field, no EMF will be induced. The general case of motion in other directions is solved by using the component of the velocity that is perpendicular to the B field (similar to the way we compute magnetic flux), but this is not expected on the AP test.

Fluid Mechanics and Thermal Physics

gh 41) p p 0 Pressure of a liquid. Here p0 is the pressure at a specified level and p represents the pressure at a height below (or above) that level. is the density of the liquid. In many problems it is necessary to determine the absolute pressure (not the gauge pressure): p absolute p atmosphere p gauge - be sure you understand which pressure is requested. A typical problem would be to determine the pressure at a certain depth under water in this case p0 is the pressure at the surface (atmospheric pressure), h represents the water depth and p is the absolute pressure at that depth.
Vg 42) Fbouy Archimedes principle. The buoyant force (Fbouy) on an object immersed in a liquid is directly proportional to the mass of the displaced liquid. Here is the density of the liquid and V is the displaced volume. An object will float if its density is less than that of the liquid it is immersed in. The percent of the object which is above the surface of the liquid is determined by the ratio of the two densities. Note that Archimedes principle applies even if the object is entirely submerged in the liquid e.g. a rock weighs less under water than on dry land.

43) A1v1 A2 v 2 Equation of continuity for an incompressible fluid. The equation applies to liquids since almost all liquids are incompressible (density does not vary with pressure). The continuity equation can be used to solve flow rate problems through pipes of different diameters. This equation is a specific corollary of the general continuity equation ( 1 A1v1 2 A2 v 2 ), which applies to all fluids.
1 2 v constant 2 Bernoullis equation - expresses the relationship of pressure, velocity and density for a fluid. We used the equation primarily to solve liquid flow problems where the ends of the pipe are at different heights. There are several versions of this equation the version shown here is the one listed on the AP equation sheet, but other versions may be more useful in problem solving: 1 2 1 2 gy1 v1 p 2 gy2 v2 . a) The equation applies at any point, so p1 2 2

44) p

gy

b) Torricellis theorem, a special case of Bernoullis principle, describes liquid 1 2 v1 gy2 where y1 and y2 are the flow out of a reservoir. In this case, gy1 2 heights of the top and bottom of the reservoir and v1 is the velocity of the fluid flowing out of the spigot at the bottom of the reservoir (see page 291 of the text).

10
1 2 v1 2 1 2 v2 2

c) When there is no change in height, p1

p2

0 t 45) Linear expansion of a material. Expresses the change in length () as a function of temperature. is the coefficient of expansion and is different for each material. You do not need to memorize values for - if you are given a problem requiring use of this equation, will be specified for you or you will be able to determine it based on other information.

46) Q mL Heat of transformation - heat required to perform a change of state (solid to liquid, liquid to gas) for a given material. The latent heats (L) are different for the different phase changes and are specified at the melting and boiling points. Latent heat of fusion is the heat required to change a given mass of substance from a solid to a liquid at the melting point. Latent heat of vaporization is the heat required to change a given mass of liquid to a gas at the boiling point. Note that during the phase change, the temperature of the substance is constant (at the melting point for fusion, at the boiling point for vaporization). Remember this! e.g. if you are asked to determine the heat required to convert a liquid at a temperature below the boiling point to vapor, you will need to use both equations 46 and 47: equation 46 to determine the heat to raise the liquid to the boiling point and equation 47 to perform the phase change at the boiling point. 47) Q mc t Specific heat. The heat (Q) required to raise the temperature of a given material depends on a quantity called the specific heat (c). Remember that heat is a measure of energy and is thus expressed in joules. In this equation the amount of material is specified in terms of mass (kg) and c must be expressed in units of J/kg Co. The amount of material can also be expressed in terms of moles see equation 53.
F A Definition of pressure force per unit area. The SI unit is newton/meter2, also called a pascal. Some pressures may be given in atmospheres, where 1 atm = pressure at sea level. Most equations require use of SI units: 1 atm = 1.013 x 105 N/m2. This conversion is given in the AP equation sheet you dont need to memorize it. Just remember when conversion is required.

48) p

49) pV nRT Ideal gas law. Here n represents the number of moles of gas. You often need to convert m gas mass of gas to moles: n where mgas is the mass of gas in grams and mmolecule mmolecule is the number of grams per mole of the gas. Various special cases of this equation occur

11 when any of the variables (amount of gas (n), pressure, volume, temperature) are held p1V1 p 2V2 constant. For example, if the amount of gas (n) is constant then: T1 T2 3 50) K avg k BT 2 Average kinetic energy of gas molecules. The average energy of molecules in a gas increases with temperature. The constant kB (Boltzmanns constant) specifies the relationship. The value of Boltzmanns constant (1.38 x 10-23 J/K) is given in the AP equation sheet you dont have to memorize it. Note that the temperature here must be specified in kelvins.

3k BT 3RT M Average velocity of gas molecules. vrms is the root mean square velocity (square root of the average of the squares of the velocities of all the molecules in a gas). Note that the AP sheet shows two equivalent versions of this equation. Our text did not discuss the first version. Here M is the mass of 1 mole of the gas expressed in kg and R is the universal gas constant. Our text used the second expression. is the mass of one molecule of the substance and kB is Boltzmanns constant. Note that must be expressed in SI units (kg), so if you are given the mass of the molecule in atomic mass units, youll need to convert to kg. The AP equation sheet gives the conversion factor you dont need to memorize it.
51) vrms 52) W p V Work done in volume changes of a gas. In this equation W is the work done on a gas as its volume changes at constant pressure (you can convince yourself that the signs make sense if you think of a situation where the gas is compressed). For compression, V is negative (final volume is less than initial volume) and so work done on the gas is positive you have to add work to compress the gas. Note: Most texts (including ours) state this equation as W p V where W is the work done by the gas. Be sure to use the correct sign for the work (W). 53) Q nc T Specific heat in terms of moles. Same equation as equation 47, but the amount of material is expressed as number of moles (n) and the specific heat must be expressed in units of J/mol Co. Equation 47 is the more common equation, but you may see this version in a problem. Any problem will likely specify the value of c, so you can tell which version of the equation to use by looking at the units for c. 54) U Q W First law of thermodynamics. The change in internal energy of a system ( U ) is equal to the amount of heat added to the system (Q) plus the amount of work done to the system (W). Note: most texts (including ours) state this law as U Q W where W is the work done by the system. Be sure to use the correct sign for the work (W).

12

55) U ncv T Molar specific heat of an ideal gas at constant volume. This topic is not discussed in our text, so its unclear whether youd get a question on it. This equation relates the change in the internal energy ( U ) of a gas to the change in temperature ( T ). For gases, the value of the specific heat (c) depends on the process used to raise the temperature. The temperature could be raised while holding the gas at constant pressure or at constant volume. This equation specifies constant volume and cv is the molar specific heat for the gas at constant volume. In this equation n is the number of moles of the gas and cv is specified in units of J/mol Co.

W QH Efficiency of a heat engine. A heat engine provides mechanical energy (work) by a process that moves heat from a high temperature to a low temperature. The heat input at the high temperature (QH) is partially transformed into work (W) and partially exhausted as heat (QL) at the low temperature. The efficiency (e) of the engine is a measure of how effectively the engine converts fuel (which produces QH) to work. In the equation W is the work done by the heat engine, QH is the amount of heat input at the high temperature of the engine.
56) e 57) e
TH TC

TH Efficiency of a Carnot (ideal) engine. This equation specifies the theoretical limit of the efficiency of any heat engine as a function of operating temperatures of the engine (TH and TC). Because some heat is always lost to friction, turbulence or other causes, no real engine can achieve this efficiency.

13

Waves and Optics

58) v f Velocity of a wave. This is a fundamental wave equation that relates the velocity of a wave to its frequency and wavelength. One implication of the equation is that if frequency is constant and the wave velocity changes, the wavelength must change this has implications in optics.
c v Index of refraction (n) is defined as the ratio of the speed of light in a vacuum (c) to the speed in the medium (v).

58) n

59) n1 sin 1 n2 sin 2 Snells law for refraction of light. The law describes the path of a light beam moving from medium 1 to medium 2. n1 and n2 are the indices of refraction for the two media carrying the light. 1 is the angle of incidence (measured from the normal to the boundary surface its not the angle measured from the surface itself), 2 is the angle or refraction (again measured from the normal). Be sure you remember how to measure the angle!
n2 n1 Critical angle for total internal reflection. At any angle of incidence greater than or equal to the critical angle c no light will be refracted through the boundary. This

60) sin

equation can be derived from Snells law by setting sin 2 1 . At angles of incidence c all light is reflected. When the angle of incidence c , the refracted light skims the surface of the boundary, but does not pass through it. Note that total internal reflection can only occur when light moves toward a medium that has a lower index of refraction than that of the medium containing the incident light beam (n2<n1).
1 1 1 si s0 f Mirror/lens equation. This equation applies to both mirrors and lenses. si and so are the image and object distances measured from the surface of the mirror or center of the lens, f is the focal length of the mirror or lens. This equation works for convex and concave mirrors and for converging and diverging lenses, but it is critical to follow the correct sign conventions for each case.

61)

For mirrors, when the image, object or focal point is on the reflecting side of the mirror, the sign is positive. Points behind the mirror are at negative distances. Any image behind a mirror is virtual.

14

For lenses: 1) f for converging lenses is positive, f for diverging lenses is negative 2) Object distance is positive if it is on the side of the lens from which the light is coming (usually the case unless lenses are used in combination). If not, the distance is negative 3) Image distance is positive if it is on the opposite side of the lens from which the light is coming (same caveat as in 2). Also, if si is positive, image is real; if si is negative, image is virtual.
hi si h0 s0 Magnification equation. The magnification (M) is the ratio of the height of the image to the height of the object and can be determined from the image and object distances. Note that if M is a negative number, the image is inverted.

62) M

R 2 Focal length of a curved mirror. R is the radius of curvature of the mirror. Note that for a convex mirror, R and f are negative numbers.

63) f

64) d sin m Diffraction grating equation for constructive interference. The equation is usually used to determine the position of the bright fringes (constructive interference) by solving for when given the slit separation of the grating (d) and the wavelength of light incident on the slits. For constructive interference to occur, the path difference for the light beams must equal some integer (m) multiple of the wavelength. The equation also applies to Youngs double slit experiment, where d is the separation of the 2 slits. Note that there are multiple fringes at angles determined by m = 1,2,3

m L d Position of constructive interference fringes. This equation is used to determine the position of the bright fringes (maxima) on a screen placed a distance L from the diffraction grating or double slit apparatus. The equation is an approximation of equation 64 for small angles (which is normally the case for interference problems) and is quicker to use in solving problems which require determining the separation of interference maxima. Here xm represents the distance from the center of the center (or 0th) maximum to the nth maximum. (In the double slit experiment the center of the 0th maximum is a point on the screen directly opposite the midpoint between the 2 slits.)
65) x m

15

Atomic and Nuclear Physics

66) E hf pc Energy or momentum of a photon. This is the key equation in describing the wave/particle duality of light. The energy of a light particle (photon) is determined by the frequency (f ) of the light wave. Because a photon is a particle, it can have momentum this equation also relates the momentum (p) of a photon to its frequency. The constant h in the equation is Plancks constant (equal to 6.63 x 10-34 J sec). The value of h is given in the AP equation sheet you dont need to memorize it. The particle theory of light is key to understanding the photoelectric and Compton effects. 67) K m ax hf Photoelectric effect. Kmax is the maximum kinetic energy of electrons released by the photoelectric effect. The photoelectric effect is caused by light of frequency f striking a metal surface. In the equation is the work function for the metal which specifies the amount of energy required to free an electron from the surface of the metal. Note that the frequency of the light must be high enough such that hf in order free the electrons from the metal. The frequency at which hf is called the cutoff frequency light below that frequency will not free any electrons. Note that our text uses the variable W0 to denote the work function.
h p de Broglie wavelength of a particle. Key equation in modeling the wave-particle duality of matter. Just as light (which we usually think of as a wave) can act as a particle at times, a particle (like an electron) can act as a wave. In fact, this is the only way we can explain certain behavior of small particles. This equation provides a means of determining the wavelength of a particle if you know its momentum. Typical use of the equation would be to determine the wavelength of an electron.

68)

69) E ( m)c 2 Mass related to energy. The most famous equation from Einsteins Special Theory of Relativity. The equation shows the interchangeability of mass and energy. This is most easily detected in nuclear and elementary particle physics - some particles decay into pure energy (electromagnetic radiation), some radiation can be converted to particles. It also describes the means by which nuclear reactions (fission and fusion) produce energy. Note: In using the equation, m will be extremely small (c2 is huge!).