The great unwashed

[Spacecadet]

She may have a point... surely when you burn oil some of the energy and therefore mass is lost beyond the atmosphere as it radiates heat?

You're confusing nuclear fission with burning

[OwlHoot]

You're confusing nuclear fission with burning

Er, he isn't. Energy is equivalent to mass, and on that basis normal combustion will reduce the mass of the constituents (by a miniscule amount).

[Doggy Styles]

Er, he isn't. Energy is equivalent to mass, and on that basis normal combustion will reduce the mass of the constituents (by a miniscule amount).

Does that mean that chemical equations like...

C + O2 -> CO2

...are not accurate? What bit of mass is lost? All the nuclear particles and electrons are still there.

Is it a Higgs Boson?

[expat]

Does that mean that chemical equations like...

C + O2 -> CO2

...are not accurate? What bit of mass is lost? All the nuclear particles and electrons are still there.

Is it a Higgs Boson?

They are accurate. The mass of the CO2 is less than the sum of the masses of the C + the O2. No "bit" of anything is lost, but the constituents do not have as much energy when they form CO2 as when they form C + O2. Therefore, they do not have as much mass as before.

Or to be precise, a photon is emitted: this carries the "missing" mass. This photon is not a "thing" for chemistry, so it is not included in the formula.

[Spacecadet]

Er, he isn't. Energy is equivalent to mass, and on that basis normal combustion will reduce the mass of the constituents (by a miniscule amount).

The energy isn't coming from within the nucleous, it is being released from the chemical bonds between the atoms.
I don't believe there should be any mass lost as per the constant mass law of chemical reactions (although i'm not sure if that law includes the sort of miniscule amounts you refer to)

[DiscoStu]

This is why I love CUK. You start a thread on dimwitted scousers and it turns into a chemistry debate

[Mich the Tester]

This is why I love CUK. You start a thread on dimwitted scousers and it turns into a chemistry debate

Yes, but within two pages it'll become a debate about turds, which is I suppose still chemistry.

[Spacecadet]

Yes, but within two pages it'll become a debate about turds, which is I suppose still chemistry.

more biology... unless you want to use your turds for a biomass powered generator

[Mich the Tester]

more biology... unless you want to use your turds for a biomass powered generator

Biochemistry then. That's a good question for the congregation; how many average human turds would be required to keep a 100w light bulb running for one hour?

[Doggy Styles]

So the earth gets heavier coz of all the energy in the sunlight falling on it?

Only if everyone breaths in at once.