Antimatter atoms trapped for 16 minutes

In summary: I don't know much about anti-matter, but a few days ago I read that a "mirror image" of the weak force could be responsible for the matter/anti-matter imbalance. So I suppose if you could change the weak force, you could make anti-matter fall up.In summary, a Canadian-led study has successfully trapped antimatter atoms for a record-breaking 16 minutes, far longer than previously thought possible. This achievement has extended the experimental lifetime of antihydrogen atoms 5,000-fold, opening up new possibilities for experiments to probe the nature of antimatter. The team, based at CERN, published their method in Nature last November and published their findings in Nature Physics. The spokesperson for the study
  • #1
baywax
Gold Member
2,176
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Sorry if this has been posted already. Its a Canadian led study!

"Antimatter atoms have been held captive and kept in existence for a whopping 16 minutes by a Canadian-led team — far longer than the researchers thought possible.
"It was quite a surprise," said Makoto Fujiwara, lead author of a study published Sunday in Nature Physics. It reported trapping antiatoms of antihydrogen — the antimatter counterpart of a hydrogen atom — for 1,000 seconds.
The achievement has extended the experimental lifetime of antihydrogen atoms 5,000-fold since the ALPHA experiment — an international collaboration Fujiwara is part of — first figured out how to trap them at all.
The team, based at the laboratory of CERN, the European organization for nuclear research, near Geneva, published its method in Nature last November. At the time, it reported that it had held onto the antiatoms for less than one-fifth of a second.
Holding antiatoms captive for several minutes opens up a new range of possible experiments to probe the nature of antimatter, said Fujiwara, a research scientist at Vancouver-based TRIUMF and an adjunct professor at the University of Calgary."

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/antimatter-atoms-trapped-16-minutes-154706752.html
 
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  • #2
So... does anti-matter fall up? :biggrin:
 
  • #3
Pengwuino said:
So... does anti-matter fall up? :biggrin:
:smile: that's my guess too, based on the fact that it creates its own anti-gravity.
 
  • #4
Pengwuino said:
So... does anti-matter fall up? :biggrin:

baywax said:
:smile: that's my guess too, based on the fact that it creates its own anti-gravity.

I don't think so. Even if it creates an anti gravity field, it will still be just as undetectable as a normal hydrogen atoms gravity field.
 
  • #5
TurtleMeister said:
I don't think so. Even if it creates an anti gravity field, it will still be just as undetectable as a normal hydrogen atoms gravity field.

We're being sarcastic ;)
 
  • #6
Pengwuino said:
We're being sarcastic ;)

Oh, I guess I should pay more attention to emoticons.
 
  • #7
Pengwuino said:
We're being sarcastic ;)

I was unsure for a minute there myself lol. Text doesn't convey the verbal/non verbal cues that normal conversation does and is easily confused!
 
  • #8
There's less 'antiness' to antimatter than the name might suggest. What a let down.
 
  • #9
Maybe 'Bizarro-Matter' might be more suitable? Not so much anti-, just a bit off.
 
  • #10
SPMerkk said:
Maybe 'Bizarro-Matter' might be more suitable? Not so much anti-, just a bit off.

How about matters jerk of a twin brother?
 
  • #11
sophiecentaur said:
There's less 'antiness' to antimatter than the name might suggest. What a let down.

Yeah, just a big explosion. How american film cliche.
 
  • #12
Drakkith said:
How about matters jerk of a twin brother?

You guys are killing me!:rofl:

But apparently this is a(n) hell of an achievement. The last time the evil twin brother stayed for any length of time it was like 5 seconds.

Is this going to be a reproducible experiment? Or are anti-matter hydrogen atoms as unpredictable as Marlon Brando on a motercycle?
 
  • #13
What containment method is used? It must be a problem where the particles are neutrally charged. The only way I could think of would be to ensure that they all turn up 'stationary' after they have been produced and stay in the middle of the experiment for a reasonable length of time,
 
  • #14
It's a magnetic trap.

Also, I hate to break the news, but the spokesperson is not Canadian. He's Danish.
 
  • #15
Let's use it to fuel our cars. One tank should last a few thousand lifetimes.
 
  • #16
Antiphon said:
One tank should last a few thousand lifetimes.

Or 16 minutes.

Followed by your car exploding!
 
  • #17
Pengwuino said:
Followed by your car exploding!

and falling upward.
 
  • #18
Vanadium 50 said:
It's a magnetic trap.

Also, I hate to break the news, but the spokesperson is not Canadian. He's Danish.

"It was quite a surprise," said Makoto Fujiwara, lead author of a study p

ublished Sunday in Nature Physics.

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/antimatter-...154706752.html I suppose you didn't know that Makoto Fujiwara is a good Canadian family name. The family homesteaded during the 2nd world war in containment camps while all their worldly possessions were stolen by the govt.

Just south of the boarder, in Yakima Wa., the same thing took place with the Japanese there and they turned this sour situation into beet farms generating sugar for the outstanding US troops over seas.
 
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  • #19
A relevant story - Future is bright for CERN antimatter physicists
http://physicsworld.com/cws/article/news/46216
 
  • #20
Vanadium 50 said:
It's a magnetic trap.

Also, I hate to break the news, but the spokesperson is not Canadian. He's Danish.

If the atoms are 'atoms' and neutral, how does a magnetic trap function? I can see how you could trap ions but antiHydrogen ions would 'just' be antiprotons and that wouldn't be such a big deal.

And there's nothing wrong with Danes, in their right place. And a lab could well be the right place. Bohr did quite well, after all.
 
  • #22
I thank you.
 
  • #23
sophiecentaur said:
If the atoms are 'atoms' and neutral, how does a magnetic trap function?

Vanadium 50 said:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atomic_trap

See also http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magneto-optical_trap . I'm about 15 years removed from working in laser cooling, but it was the case back then that MOT's were a common way to trap neutral atoms.

I remember hearing about trapped antiprotons around 1990, it's good to see the work has progressed to antihydrogen.
 
  • #24
That's even better. Thanks for that too.
I must say, I had never really though how laser cooling could work but that wiki article makes perfect sense.
 
  • #25
Pengwuino said:
So... does anti-matter fall up? :biggrin:

Even though it is tongue in cheek, its still a good question; I don't think anti-matter has yet been experimentally shown to fall in a particular direction in a g field. Long lived neutral anti-hydrogen may solve some of the experimental dilemas that have thwarted its measurement.
I'm sure I may be opening up a can of speculation here.:smile:

Creator
 
  • #26
If anti-matter fell down with the same weight normal matter would, what would that mean? If it fell up, I'd assume that tickles the super-symmetry theory.
 
  • #27
@creator
Your post seems to suggest the possibility of negative mass??
 
  • #28
Experimental verification that antimatter falls downward would be a good thing to have done, if only to stop speculation that it doesn't.
 
  • #29
Redbelly98 said:
Experimental verification that antimatter falls downward would be a good thing to have done, if only to stop speculation that it doesn't.

Better get to work on that one!
 
  • #30
My antipen just floated up to the ceiling. Could that be used as a source of motive power, I wonder? (It disappeared in a flash when it got there, unfortunately - I am now scanning my insurance policy)
 

1. What is antimatter?

Antimatter is a type of matter that has the same mass as regular matter, but opposite charge. It is made up of antiparticles, which have the opposite properties of their corresponding particles. For example, the antiparticle of an electron is a positron.

2. How are antimatter atoms trapped for 16 minutes?

Scientists use magnetic fields to trap and contain antimatter atoms. By using a combination of magnetic fields and electric fields, they are able to create a "bottle" to hold the antimatter atoms in place. This allows them to study the properties of antimatter and conduct experiments.

3. What is the significance of trapping antimatter atoms for 16 minutes?

Trapping antimatter atoms for 16 minutes is significant because it allows scientists to study and understand the properties of antimatter in a controlled environment. This can help us better understand the fundamental laws of physics and potentially lead to new technologies and advancements.

4. How is antimatter used in practical applications?

Currently, antimatter is primarily used in medical imaging and cancer treatment. Positron emission tomography (PET) scans use positrons (antiparticles of electrons) to create images of the inside of the body. Antimatter is also being researched for potential use in propulsion systems for space travel.

5. Is antimatter dangerous?

Antimatter is not inherently dangerous, as it is only dangerous when it comes into contact with regular matter. When this happens, the particles annihilate each other, releasing a large amount of energy. However, scientists take precautions when working with antimatter to prevent any accidental interactions with regular matter.

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