[aNYCguy]

From what I understand, the components of particles end up being reduced to nothing more than energy. And yet, they have mass.

It's not a stupid question.

Energy has many forms, and a given amount of energy can be converted between these forms with some limitations. Mass is simply one of these forms of energy, as related by the equation E=mc^2. The concept is really as simple as that.

Just as a side note, it's not true that particles are reduced to only energy. The Standard Model of particle physics postulates other attributes of particles (including electric charge, for example) which are currently irreducible. So it would be more accurate to say that a particle can be reduced to some amount of energy and a list of its fundamental attributes.

[PapaBear3625]

Just as a side note, it's not true that particles are reduced to only energy. The Standard Model of particle physics postulates other attributes of particles (including electric charge, for example) which are currently irreducible.

When an electron hit a positron (anti-electron), the result is two or more gamma ray photons with no particle results.