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This is a question that has bothered me for a long time

Is energy real or is it just a very useful mathematical construct?

I personally think its just a mathematical construct, its designed so that it is conserved. Forces and fields are fundamental and energy is derived from it. However I have no justification for this apart from intuition and a desire for the universe to behave in a certain way.

However I am interested in what others think.

I understand that this could be a discussion on the definition of "real", and so I will clarify. By real I mean "fundamental". Is Energy the reason for forces and fields are so on or is it just a tool we use?

Kyle Kanos
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Toby Peterken
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I think you believe in the reality of mass, but correct me if I'm wrong. It's involved in the acceleration of material bodies which are subjected to whatever kind of the three basic forces (the e.m. force, the weak force, and the strong color force). The bigger the mass the smaller the acceleration (except in gravity where acceleration is independent of mass).

Now, as you know, $E=mc^2$, (or $E^2=m^2 c^4 + p^2 c^2$), and thus you may conclude that $E$ is something real.

Deschele Schilder
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