"In physics terms, creation ex nihilo appears to violate both the first and second laws of thermodynamics. The first law of thermodynamics is equivalent to the principle of conservation of energy: the total energy of a closed system is constant; any energy change must be compensated by a corresponding inflow or outflow from the system. Einstein showed that mass and energy are equivalent, by E = mc^2. So, if the universe started from 'nothing,' energy conservation would seem to have been violated by the creation of matter. Some energy from outside is apparently required." Victor J. Stenger