I came across a café in Bengaluru called Coffee Chemistry stylized and shortened as “C²” read as “C Square”. My eyes then fell upon a cup-shaped prop (more like an outline of a prop) outside the said shop, which gloriously displayed (arguably) the most famous equation E=MC² and postulated it to mean “Energy = Milk × Coffee²”! What a cheap way to invite physicists (and chemists too I guess).
As a physicist, I have an issue with this “incomplete” equation because in modern notation the “full” equation reads “E=γmc²” (the Greek letter γ is read “gamma”). I am not going to talk about the physics and/or the rationale behind it… maybe another day! I guess the café owner could not get the artisans to fit something like “Energy = glass × milk × coffee²” on the prop!
As a high energy physicist, I have even more pressing concerns because in natural units “c = 1” and the equation just reads “E=γm” with no coffee in sight anymore! Will I be satisfied with just a glass of milk in a café?
Anyway, I leave you with some Physics behind the formula and you will know exactly what γ stands for.
