CERN lab creates antimatter

Antimatter exists in the universe, but it’s hard to catch. However, researchers have just done it. It isn’t the first-time antimatter has been seen, but it is a groundbreaking achievement in the way it was done. The experiment took place at the CERN laboratory. Ordinarily, antimatter atoms instantly explode upon creation. This is the first time that antimatter has been observable for any time period.

Seeing antimatter atoms at long last

The Telegraph reports that in an experiment, antimatter was captures by the CERN laboratory scientists in Geneva Switzerland. Only 38 atoms of antihydrogen were able to be captured for a fifth of a second before blasting out of existence. Subatomic particles tend to move extremely fast. This is the reason why the fifth of a second was more than expected. To produce antihydrogen, researchers used the Anti-hydrogen Laser Physics Apparatus, or ALPHA, to bombard a contained field with about 700 million positrons, or positively charged electrons, with concerning 10 million protons, based on the BBC. A gas cloud the size of a match head was formed in the magnetic container used to do the experiment. This formed antihydrogen. It was 38 atoms worth. Many studies use antihydrogen in it. It has an opposite charge from hydrogen but it is the very same almost completely other than that.

Antimatter isn't science fiction solely

A particle corresponding sometimes has an opposite charge. This is called antimatter. Typically, electrons have a negative charge. The behavior is all about the same. Electrons are almost entirely mimicked by positrons, or anti-electrons. An optimistic charge is the only difference. In 1932, man named Carl D. Anderson at CalTech confirmed positrons existed. The Nobel Prize in Physics was given to him for this. Particles of antimatter and ordinary matter annihilate each other when in contact. What the biggest concern is apparently studying antimatter without losing it.

Physics problem

In physics, one of the biggest mysteries has always been matter and antimatter. Obviously, antimatter is less common than matter. The universe would have annihilated itself if this weren't true. Still, the creation of a few atoms of antimatter for a few seconds in a laboratory is quite an achievement.

Citations

The Telegraph

telegraph.co.uk/science/8141780/Antimatter-captured-by-CERN-scientists-in-dramatic-physics-breakthrough.html

The BBC

bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-11773791

Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antimatter