An idea for an episode

[Fungus]

Not exactly test gear or soldering irons, just something that came to mind after I went down a rabbit hole of trying to understand why E=M.C^2.

My thinking was that C^2 is a constant so why include it? Was Einstein just fond of C? Why didn't he use 3.142 squared instead? Pi would also work for suitable units of mass.  Why not just specify either mass or energy in a more suitable unit and eliminate the C squared "fudge-factor"?

Then again, the fact that the "fudge factor" is precisely "the speed of light squared" is much too big a coincidence to ignore. Why do completely arbitrary man-made units like 'seconds' and 'meters' turn into a perfect equation? It can't be dumb luck.

That's where the quest for enlightenment started...

It turns out that Watts are derived from joules, the joule is derived from kilograms and meters, the amp is derived from the joule, the Ohm is derived from the Amp, the Volt is derived from the Ohm and the Amp, the Amp is also a Coulomb and was defined in terms of micronewtons/meter, both of which are derived from kilograms, and.... the whole thing goes around and around and around in circles when you start to look up the definitions.

Which came first, the Volt, the Coulomb or the Ohm? Was it the Ampere or the Watt? Chicken or egg? Are they all really derived from Kilograms and meters? It turns out that one coulomb into one Ohm is the same as applying one Newton to 1kg of mass, how does that work?


Might make a fun video. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coulomb#Definition
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joule#Definition
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ampere#Definition
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volt#Definition
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ohm#Definition
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joule#Definition
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass%E2%80%93energy_equivalence

And ... if you don't know why E = MC^2 then it's worth figuring it out. The equation takes on a whole new meaning when you know why.