Re: heat is a form of energy

[crawford j maccallum <mccallum@UNM.EDU>]

On Sun, 12 Sep 1999, Leigh Palmer wrote:
> The ultimate way to calculate the charge on a system is to apply
> Gauss's law to a bounding surface.    .......

I was away this summer and was embarassed to get into this thread late.
But it seems to be immortal, so may I venture a puzzlement that may not
have been addressed specifically?

If a nucleus absorbs a photon it gains energy and has a measurably greater
rest mass.  I always felt that the energy was now localized in the
nucleus, where it wasn't before the absorption.  Although I agree with
everything Leigh says, I still find it hard to let go of this feeling. If
the nucleus is replaced by a star, its mass can be measured by the
curvature of space on a bounding surface.  Absorbing the photon changes
its mass and therefore the local curvature of space.  It sort of seems
the energy is now "inside the bounding surface"?

Enlightenment, anyone?              Crawford