So, lets start with one of the simplest equations that you can write down, Einstein’s equation e = mc2.
Now this equation is quite elegant and easy to understand. In English, it means that energy equals mass times the speed of light squared. It shows that mass can be converted into energy (lots of energy) and that large amounts of energy can generate mass (or matter). Simple right?
However, there is something missing from this equation that most people don’t realize. When you go back and look at how this equation was derived, it becomes quite clear that there is actually a negative solution to this equation such that e = + or – mc squared. For some reason, the negative solution to this equation was dropped or ignored.
What the positive energy solution tells us is that a tiny amount of matter or mass is capable of releasing a tremendous amount of energy because the C on the right hand side of the equation represents a very large number called the speed of light and so we are squaring a very large number to get an even larger number, then multiplying that by the mass to get the amount of energy stored in the matter.
It was this “realization” that mass equates to such a large amount of energy that was the driving “force” behind the development and eventual use of the atomic nuclear bomb.