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Icebreaker
I'm told that most of the observable universe is made up of "normal" matter. How did physicists come to this conclusion? There is no difference between matter and antimatter when observed.
kenhcm said:This is the way I think and it might not be correct. The assignment of "matter" and "anti-matter" are arbitrary since we do not have a standard reference. We could simply call one of them "matter" and the other to be "anti-matter". This is similar in the situation to assign "left" and "right".
Kenneth
Icebreaker said:I'm told that most of the observable universe is made up of "normal" matter. How did physicists come to this conclusion? There is no difference between matter and antimatter when observed.
Observing at a distance, I can't think of any way of detecting antimatter (other than annihilation), except (possibly) rather indirectly. Up close & personal, antimatter particles reveal their 'true colours' in several ways other than by annihilation (e.g. estimates of charge and mass -> clean distinctions); however, this isn't much help, as all it does is tell you there is little anti-matter in cosmic rays (and none, to speak of, where spacecraft have ventured).Icebreaker said:So it's just "chances are." I thought there was a way to detect antimatter (other than annihilation) that I was not aware of.
Antimatter is a form of matter that is composed of antiparticles, which have the opposite charge of particles in regular matter. For example, the antiparticle of an electron is a positron, which has a positive charge instead of a negative charge. When matter and antimatter collide, they annihilate each other and release energy.
Antimatter can be created through natural processes, such as high-energy collisions between particles in space. It can also be created artificially in particle accelerators. However, antimatter is rare in the universe because it tends to quickly annihilate with matter, leaving behind only a small amount of energy.
Antimatter plays a crucial role in the balance of the universe. It is believed that in the early stages of the universe, there was an equal amount of matter and antimatter. However, as the universe expanded and cooled, matter and antimatter began to annihilate each other, leaving behind only matter. The remaining matter in the universe is what we see today.
Scientists study antimatter through particle accelerators, where they can create and observe antiparticles. They also study the effects of antimatter in high-energy collisions, as well as through observations of cosmic rays and other high-energy phenomena in the universe.
While antimatter has the potential to be a highly efficient source of energy, it is currently not practical to use it as such. The process of creating and storing antimatter is extremely difficult and expensive. Additionally, the energy released from matter-antimatter annihilation is difficult to contain and harness. However, research and advancements in antimatter technology continue to explore its potential as a future energy source.