Children Know

As you promote your book via book clubs and speaking engagements, you'll have some enriching experiences. One Saturday afternoon a friend came to a book club discussion with his three sons in tow; the eldest, named Jahhson, is eleven years old. We were talking about what happens scientifically when the voice of an opera singer shatters a wine glass; something discussed in Your Little Light Shines, a quantum physics look at the bible. These three young children were fully engaged.  I then asked how could Jesus walk through walls? Jahhson said if Jesus could speed up his molecules to the point where they were the same as the molecules in the wall, Jesus could walk through the wall.

And that, from an eleven year old's point of view, is an explanation of Einstein's renowned equation E = mc2 where energy equals mass times the speed of light squared. Under the right conditions energy can become mass and vice versa. They are interchangeable; energy and mass (or matter) are different forms of the same thing. Whenever mass (or matter) is converted to pure energy, the energy by definition is moving at the speed of light. If you want more scientific insight, please visit the NOVA website (pbs.org/wgbh/nova/physics/legacy-of-e-equals-mc2.html).

Even without the science, you can still appreciate that Einstein's discoveries underscore many modern technological advances like lasers, computers, fiber optics, photoelectric cells. So the next time you use a microwave or your cell phone, think about how these conveniences are the results of the thoughts of a sixteen year old. Einstein was sixteen years old when he first tried to envision what it would be like to ride on a beam of light.

Here's another thought for you to appreciate: a raisin (mass/matter) has enough energy in it to supply most of New York city's energy needs for a day. How much energy resides in you?!!!