E = mc2 is one of the most well known equations of all time. It is regularly used to project a nuclear image in popular magazines.
This equation is a century old and comes from the work at Albert Einstein.
When the concept of energy is first taught at school a teacher will usually explain to the learners that energy cannot be created
or destroyed, it can only be converted from one form to another.
This is true for all energy except when some nuclear processes come into play. A nuclear reaction is the only process which can
convert matter itself into energy. Energy E, is derived from the mass of some object m, multiplied by the speed of light c, and then
multiplied by c again. The speed of light is very large. Thus a very large amount of the nuclear power E can be produced using only a
very small mass m.
A piece of uranium the size of a cricket ball can light up a city.