In modern physics, antimatter is defined as matter that is composed of the antiparticles (or "partners") of the corresponding particles of "ordinary" matter. Minuscule numbers of antiparticles are generated daily at particle accelerators—total production has been only a few nanograms (ng)—and in natural processes like cosmic ray collisions and some types of radioactive decay, but only a tiny fraction of these have successfully been bound together in experiments to form anti-atoms. No macroscopic amount of antimatter has ever been assembled due to the extreme cost and difficulty of production and handling.
Theoretically, a particle and its anti-particle (for example, a proton and an antiproton) have the same mass, but opposite electric charge, and other differences in quantum numbers. For example, a proton has positive charge while an antiproton has negative charge.
A collision between any particle and its anti-particle partner leads to their mutual annihilation, giving rise to various proportions of intense photons (gamma rays), neutrinos, and sometimes less-massive particle–antiparticle pairs. The majority of the total energy of annihilation emerges in the form of ionizing radiation. If surrounding matter is present, the energy content of this radiation will be absorbed and converted into other forms of energy, such as heat or light. The amount of energy released is usually proportional to the total mass of the collided matter and antimatter, in accordance with the notable mass–energy equivalence equation, E=mc2.Antimatter particles bind with each other to form antimatter, just as ordinary particles bind to form normal matter. For example, a positron (the antiparticle of the electron) and an antiproton (the antiparticle of the proton) can form an antihydrogen atom. The nuclei of antihelium have been artificially produced, albeit with difficulty, and are the most complex anti-nuclei so far observed. Physical principles indicate that complex antimatter atomic nuclei are possible, as well as anti-atoms corresponding to the known chemical elements.
There is strong evidence that the observable universe is composed almost entirely of ordinary matter, as opposed to an equal mixture of matter and antimatter. This asymmetry of matter and antimatter in the visible universe is one of the great unsolved problems in physics. The process by which this inequality between matter and antimatter particles developed is called baryogenesis.
Dear PF Forum,
It's been a while since I logged in PF Forum. And wish you a good health.
I'd like to ask a question concerning anti matter.
I read in Dan Brown's Angel and Demon that anti matter can be used as energy source.
A ha, I said to myself. There were you went wrong mr. Author.
The...
I recently got this weird idea of a blade which would work not with matter but with anti-matter. The idea is that an anti-particle (anti-proton, anti-neutron, anti-electron) generator would create a "spray" of antimatter towards a specific direction. Said antimatter would interact and "puff out...
Alright, I have a basic understanding about anti hydrogen - hydrogen annihilation reaction. But what exactly happens if an anti hydrogen atom stumbles into anything else like a deuterium, tritium of helium atom?
From my limited understanding, antimatter can only react with its anti-particle...
On the following link it is mentioned that this experiment tests special relativity. Can someone please explain how it does that? http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2016/12/deep-probe-antimatter-puts-einstein-s-special-relativity-test
Dear PF Forum,
I've been wondering lately about anti gravity.
I read anti matter and came across this:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gravitational_interaction_of_antimatter
And I'm curious to now.
Is there really an anti gravity?
And I've read this wiki entry...
Dear PF Forum,
Can proton be annihilated by anti neutron?
Can proton be annihilated by positron?
Can neutron be annihilated by positron?
Does every particle has to match its antiparticle to be annihilated, example: Proton must be annihilated by anti-proton, not by anti neutron.
I've heard that...
Dear PF Forum,
In less than 1 second after big bang, baryons were created. And there's asymmetry in it.
Can anyone help me?
1. Is it physically possible for a galaxy made entirely from anti matter?
2. If it's true, is it statistically possible for a galaxy made entirely from anti matter?
If...
I had not heard of this, so I thought others might be interested.
I thought that all natural Anti matter had been lost at the beginning of the Universe, but apparently there is a 10000 light year cloud of anti matter near the center of our galaxy...
I was watching a programme on anti matter 'discovery' whereby a guy claimed that research is going on to create this... The way this guy described the energy was that if a 'anti matter' clone of himself was to touch him, both him and the surroundings would be obliterated..
He claimed that...
I found this article on anti matter, (far to complex for me to completely understand). what i would like to know is, does this happen at every bounce, or is this (the) start to the universe.
http://arxiv.org/PS_cache/arxiv/pdf/1007/1007.4317v2.pdf.
Sorry I was unsure where to post this so I hope its ok posting it here.
I'm an aspiring author and looking to writing a book with a space/sci-fi theme. Now I understand a lot about antimatter but what I don't know is the exact reaction that happens or the conditions. What I would like to...
is it possible to produce anti matter and if yes what could be its benefits, . could it help traveling through space. could it be the fuel that ufos use .or it would just be dangerous and
couse the end of the world
Since elementary school they taught us that gravity is about mass and we even use it in the formula to calculate the gravitational force between two masses.
As I know anti matter doesn't have a mass and not consisted of the theoretical god particle (Higgs Boson) but still it is said that...
so I am watching this show on discovery and were talking about anti matter vs matter. cool, i understand that they cancel each other out. but if in the beginning energy turn into matter (e=mc2) what creates anti matter? anti energy? secondly, as per the law of conservation of energy, energy...
On the Earth, it is produced in tiny quantities in particle accelerators, but it's also produced say, in outer space as well ? is this true?
Are human being made of anti matter, or does it have to be produced purposely, and it exists naturally in outer space ?
I got a thought on this strange hypothetical question. We differentiate between matter and anti matter based on electric charge. if electron has -ve charge,then its anti matter positron has +ve charge. Supposing if there are particles having magnetic charge then
1. Will we have matter and...
Hello,
If there is an oposite dimension to ours, does that mean that there would be an oposite me? If it does, does that mean that if I was thinking of the oposite me would the oposite me be thinking about me? Or would he be doing the oposite of thinking about me?
Sorry if it sounds like a...
[15] arXiv:0810.3435 [pdf]
Title: Dark matter, dark energy and gravitational proprieties of antimatter
Authors: Dragan Slavkov Hajdukovic
Subjects: General Physics (physics.gen-ph)
We suggest that the eventual gravitational repulsion between matter and antimatter may be a key for...
Where did all the anti matter go to??
hi all
i have read dozens of articles on anti matter, but my question is.. is it all true?
is it true tht antimatter has been found?
where was it found??
why didnt tht bit of anti matter destroy the matter??
where did all the anti matter go to??
suppose that antimatter is not real in the real sense nut still is.what if when a nuclear decay or atom smasher happens and a positron is released,since positrons and electrons annihillate each other when they make contact,what if anti matter is actual the absense of energy not real energy in...