Why Energy and Mass Can Be Converted between Each Other? A New Perspective Based on a Matter Wave Model

Abstract

It was predicted by Einstein that energy and mass can be converted between each other. But why? Energy and mass are two very different physical concepts. How can they be exchanged with each other? We think the key to answer this question is to recall that a particle can behave like a wave. Particle properties like energy and momentum are known to be related to their corresponding wave properties (frequency and wave vector). Mass is clearly a particle property; is it also related to a wave property? This study suggests that it is. We found that mass and energy appear to share similar physical nature in the wave perspective. Both of them are related to the curvature of bending the vacuum medium during the propagation of the excitation wave. This similarity explains why they are convertible.