What is "Squared" in the Universe? Newton's Gravity and Einstein's Energy
In physics, when we measure how things move or how energy works, sometimes we need to multiply by the square of a number because of how the universe behaves. Squares are everywhere in physics because they help explain how things grow, spread out, or weaken.
For example, in Newton’s gravity, the force between two objects gets weaker as they get farther apart, and it does so with the square of the distance. If you double the distance, gravity drops to a quarter. If you triple it, it drops to a ninth. This happens because as things move away, they spread out over a bigger area, and that area increases with the square of the distance. So, the force gets weaker in a predictable, squared way.
In Einstein’s famous equation, E=mc^2, the speed of light is squared because it’s part of how the universe connects mass and energy. The squaring shows the deep relationship between space, time, and energy, especially at very high speeds or in strong gravity.
Squares also appear in other important formulas, like in kinetic energy (12mv221mv2), where velocity is squared to measure how much energy an object has based on how fast it’s moving.
Squares are like the universe’s secret language—simple, elegant, and profoundly powerful. They’re how nature naturally shows us what’s really going on behind the scenes. When we see forces weaken with distance, or energy relate to motion, it’s all written in the language of squares. It’s as if the universe has this beautiful, hidden order—like a perfect balance that keeps everything in harmony.
And here’s the mind-blower: imagine the moment when scientists are knee-deep in complex equations, trying to decode the universe. It looks messy, complicated—long, ugly formulas stretching out forever. But then, just when it seems like the math will spiral into chaos, everything suddenly folds into this perfect, simple square law.
That’s when you might just faint from the sheer beauty of it—how the universe’s deepest secrets are hidden in something as simple and elegant as a square. It’s math’s way of showing that even the most complex reality can be wrapped up in a perfect, elegant form.
