If energy can’t be created or destroyed, how was the big bang possible?

Question: If energy can't be created or destroyed, how was the big bang possible?
- Keywords:
- Royal Society of Chemistry: Find out more on:
  
  big bang
  
  energy
  
  universe
Asked by fierylittle1 to Rowena on 14 Mar 2014.
- Rowena Fletcher-Wood answered on 14 Mar 2014:
  
  My best understanding is that the Big Bang was about conversion between energy and matter, but this is not my area of expertise. Since we don’t know what was before the big bang we really only know what happened split seconds after it when the universe began expanding – this is the best measurement science can do!
  
  On another big bang note, I am writing this from the Big Bang Science Festival in the NEC Birmingham!

Question: If energy can't be created or destroyed, how was the big bang possible?