Discover things that you probably didn't know about antimatter, from its theoretical energy potential to its mysterious scarcity in the universe.
Antimatter consists of antiparticles, which have the same mass as particles of ordinary matter but opposite charges.
Scientists believe that the Big Bang produced equal amounts of matter and antimatter, but today, the universe appears to be made mostly of matter.
When matter and antimatter come into contact, they annihilate each other, converting their mass into energy according to Einstein's equation 𝐸=𝑚𝑐2
Mutual Destruction
The annihilation of matter and antimatter releases high-energy gamma rays, making it detectable.
Antimatter is extremely rare in the universe and challenging to produce and study in laboratory conditions.
Producing a gram of antimatter would cost an estimated $62.5 trillion, making it the most expensive material on Earth.
Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scans utilize positrons, a type of antimatter, for advanced medical imaging.
Storing antimatter is a significant challenge because it annihilates upon contact with regular matter, necessitating magnetic traps or vacuums.
Scientists have created antihydrogen atoms, the antimatter counterpart of hydrogen, in laboratory conditions.
The apparent lack of antimatter in the observable universe is one of the biggest unsolved mysteries in physics, known as the baryon asymmetry problem.
Antimatter has an incredibly high energy density, making it a potential candidate for future high-energy applications like space travel.
CERN uses sophisticated traps to contain and study antimatter, including the ALPHA experiment that aims to understand its properties.
Tiny amounts of antimatter are produced naturally on Earth during lightning storms and certain radioactive decays.
If you shook hands with an antimatter version of yourself, you'd both disappear in a flash of energy – not the best way to make friends!