I'm hoping someone can tell what energy is. I don't mean the definition of energy. I have a Ph.D. in chemistry, and I know the rough definition is the transfer of the ability to do work or generate heat (or light). This is what energy does. What is it though. For instance, when 238U decays into 234U plus an alpha particle, some of the mass is released as energy. What did the mass become : "the ability to do work or generate heat"? Conversely, in a supernova, when some of the energy of the supernova is used to convert Fe in to heavier elements (by neutron capture and beta particle emission for instance), some of this energy is converted into matter. What was converted into matter, "the ability to do work and generate heat"?
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