Question

How much heavier is my EV now that I have fully charged it? Is there an easy way to figure the increase in mass knowing the energy in joules that has been added in the charging process?

Answer 1

To determine the increase in mass of your electric vehicle (EV) after fully charging it, you need to know the energy capacity of the battery and the energy added during the charging process. If you have the energy in joules, you can use the formula $E=m{c}^2$ to calculate the mass increase, where $E$ is the energy in joules, $m$ is the mass increase, and $c$ is the speed of light ($3\times 10^8$ meters per second).

The formula can be rearranged to solve for mass: $m=\frac{E}{c^2}$

However, it's important to note that the change in mass resulting from adding energy to your EV's battery is incredibly minuscule. According to Einstein's famous equation, $E=m{c}^2$, the conversion of energy to mass is governed by the speed of light squared, which is an enormous value. Consequently, the mass increase due to charging an EV is effectively negligible and not practically measurable with current technology.

Therefore, for all practical purposes, the mass of your EV remains virtually unchanged after fully charging it.