Anti-matter is fascinating stuff. As far as we know, nearly all the stuff around us and that we can see is made of normal matter – protons, electrons etc. – but we know that for each normal matter particle there is an associated anti-particle with the same mass but opposite electric charge. For example, the anti-particles of the above examples are the anti-proton and the positron (anti-electron) respectively.
Scientists at CERN have managed to trap anti-hydrogen atoms (an anti-proton with one positron) for over 16 minutes which is a 5,000 fold increase on previous efforts! This development will hopefully path the way forward for experiments to study this elusive reflection of matter.
It is believed that equal amounts of matter and anti-matter were created in the big bang. Yet today we do not observe anti-matter objects such as anti-matter galaxies or anti-matter clouds but when we do see it, either in our experiments here or in extreme environments it is seen only briefly before it annihilates with normal matter. Being able to probe this elusive stuff will hopefully bring us closer to being able to answer one of the fundamental questions is cosmology and astronomy.
Read more: Physorg, BBC News, CERN Press Release, Nature
