Antimatter
- Anna Oliva
- Jan 30, 2023
- 2 min read
I have taken to bringing, or at least attempting to, a book with me wherever I go. This way I can fill the dead moments in between activities that I'd otherwise spend scrolling on my phone with something a bit more enjoyable. My bags, however, seem very much against this initiative, as very few books will fit into anything other than a tote bag. That is, with the exception of the "A Very Short Introduction Series" by the Oxford University Press. I am rereading their introduction to particle physics and began thinking again about antimatter.
Antimatter is analogous to matter; it has the same mass but opposite charge and magnetism. The particles that make up antimatter are also opposites to particles of ordinary matter. Antiprotons, antineutrons, and positrons are symmetrical siblings of opposite charges to the protons, neutrons, and electrons that everything on Earth is composed of. Indeed like matter, antimatter dates back to the beginning of our universe, initially being found in equal quantities to matter. But this is where we get what is perhaps one of the most mysterious aspects of our cosmos.
Despite originally having a quantity equal to that of matter, in the present day, antimatter accounts for just a fraction of our universe’s total mass. Furthermore, the laws of nature do not apply equally to antimatter as they do to matter. Why is there such a glaring discrepancy between the initial and present compositions of our universe? How do antiparticles relate to regular particles? Could we ever apply it towards living like in sci-fi? (I’d really love to inhabit the world of Dune.) Right now we aren't sure, but I can't wait to see what we discover.
CERN’s explanation for the asymmetry in the quantities of matter and antimatter:
Some recently discovered differences between the behaviors of matter and antimatter:
Finding the cause of the weight discrepancies:
Comments