Antimatter excotic particle or another reality?

In summary, antimatter is another form of matter and is no more exotic than ordinary matter. The most common form consists of positrons and is not found often due to its tendency to be destroyed upon contact with ordinary matter. There is currently no experimental evidence to suggest that antimatter attracts or repels matter via gravity, but it is believed to experience gravity in the same way as ordinary matter. The AEGIS experiment at CERN aims to investigate this further by producing cold, neutral antihydrogen to minimize interference from electrical charges.
  • #1
chis
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Antimatter excotic particle or another reality?
Is it a mirror of matter or just another form of matter?
 
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  • #2
chis said:
Antimatter excotic particle or another reality?
Is it a mirror of matter or just another form of matter?
It is another form of matter and is no more exotic than ordinary matter. The most common form consists of positrons. There isn't much around, since contact of an antimatter particle with its matter counterpart results in mutual destruction, ending up as gamma rays.
 
  • #3
Is it known if matter attracts antimatter( and vice versa ) via gravity? From what I could find googling it, there was no actual experimental evidence of this.
 
  • #4
Raap said:
Is it known if matter attracts antimatter( and vice versa ) via gravity? From what I could find googling it, there was no actual experimental evidence of this.

Current theory has antimatter experiencing gravity like ordinary matter (or dark matter). It is hard to set up an experiment, since the life of antiparticles is short (hitting ordinary matter).
 
  • #5
chis said:
Antimatter excotic particle or another reality?
Is it a mirror of matter or just another form of matter?
Antimatter, in the form of antihydrogen, has been made at CERN since about 2002. It is in the form of antiprotons and positrons. No gravity/antigravity measurements have been made yet, but that is one of the oblectives of the AEGIS experiment. See
http://www.webalice.it/datrezzi/aegis.htm
 
  • #6
Bob S said:
Antimatter, in the form of antihydrogen, has been made at CERN since about 2002. It is in the form of antiprotons and positrons. No gravity/antigravity measurements have been made yet, but that is one of the oblectives of the AEGIS experiment. See
http://www.webalice.it/datrezzi/aegis.htm
One BIG problem with testing the weak equivalence principle is that gravity is incredibly weak and electrical charges can swamp any gravitational effects. At CERN, they intend to produce cold, neutral antihydrogen to minimize noise from charge effects so gravitational equivalence can be tested. That's a big test.
 

1. What is antimatter?

Antimatter is a type of particle that has the same mass as regular matter, but with opposite charge. For example, an electron has a negative charge, but an antielectron (also known as a positron) has a positive charge. When matter and antimatter particles come into contact, they annihilate each other and release a large amount of energy.

2. Is antimatter a real substance or just a theoretical concept?

Antimatter is a real substance that has been created and studied in laboratories. However, it is extremely rare in the universe, as it is usually created in high-energy processes like particle collisions and quickly annihilates with regular matter. Scientists are still researching ways to produce and contain antimatter for practical use.

3. Can antimatter be used as a source of energy?

Yes, antimatter has the potential to be a highly efficient source of energy. When matter and antimatter particles annihilate, they release energy in the form of gamma rays. However, currently, it is very difficult and expensive to create and store antimatter in large quantities for practical energy production.

4. Could there be a parallel universe made of antimatter?

It is possible that there could be a parallel universe made of antimatter, as scientists believe that the Big Bang should have created equal amounts of matter and antimatter. However, our universe is mostly made of matter, so the question of why there is a matter-antimatter imbalance is still a mystery.

5. What are some potential applications of antimatter?

Aside from its potential as a source of energy, antimatter could also be used in medical imaging and cancer treatment. When a positron is injected into the body, it will annihilate with an electron and produce gamma rays, which can be detected and used for imaging. In cancer treatment, targeted beams of antimatter particles could be used to destroy cancer cells without damaging surrounding tissue.

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