Imagine it is 1930 and you are a general
A professor tells you about a weapon that will
REVOLUTIONIZE war.
Using large electric charges you can shoot a ray
At any matter and cause it to release its inherent energy.
This MC squared energy is released by causing
The nuclei of the atoms to break apart.
The general says, where do you plug it in?
You talk about railway lines converted into electric wires
So the general says, say I set this weapon up in the field
And then I fire the ray at the enemy.
Know what he does next?
No, says the professor
He fires an exploding shell, a bomb which destroys your raygun.
Now what do I do, says the general?
Can't you put a battery on this raygun?
Even better, can't you make some kind of bomb with the battery in it?
The professor works for 5 years trying to make a powerful battery
And then
He realizes that Uranium has a battery built in to it
And the raygun research goes on the back burner
Years pass, the general is hanged at Nuremberg, the professor emigrates
He mentions the idea to another immigrant professor at Ellis Island
And eventually, a certain car company starts building better batteries