Antimatter

If matter is everything, well what then is antimatter? It’s quite complicated, so in this section we will try to break down and understand what antimatter really could be.

Which is important as we don’t really know yet exactly what antimatter is entirely, however we do have some interesting recent finds, to make it more likely that antimatter has a place in the universe, and that it works hand in hand with regular matter.

Like dark matter and dark energy, antimatter hasn’t entirely been discovered, however there are strong signs that antimatter exists in the universe.   

 

As we know what matter is and that it’s all around us in the universe. We can see matter, feel it, touch it and even taste it. You get the picture. So is antimatter the opposite of normal matter? That is the question!

 

One of the theories scientists have come up with is that at the time of the creation of the universe, when the big bang was also theorized to have happened, that for every matter particle that was created, and equal amount of antimatter should have also been created. Well, so the theory goes anyway, but that is a good guess and a good start in trying to figure out antimatter, as that is what scientist do, in order to try and figure out the universe.

It’s the sums made by scientists, or more commonly known as equations, that allow scientists to believe that antimatter exists, and this is important, as things that have been discovered that relate to the universe have started with theories and equations. Just like black holes. !

Also, recently, scientists at CERN (The European Organization of Nuclear Research) in Switzerland believe that they have done just that.

Scientists at CERN claim to have made small amounts of antimatter using a very large and complex device called the ‘antiproton decelerator’

What does this mean right now? Not too much other than the fact that scientists believe they have created a small amount of antimatter particles, however it takes a long time, a lot of research and energy just to create even a small amount. And even with that, nobody is entirely sure what to do with this energy and what to use it for.

The tests and research are ongoing, but rest assure, we will figure it out sooner rather than later.

For more information and updates about antimatter and CERN, please visit https://home.cern/

 

Kids Fun Facts Corner

# 1. The creation of what scientists believe is antimatter is very expensive.

# 2. Antimatter that is created doesn’t last for very long.

# 3. Scientists are trying to find ways of fueling spacecraft using antimatter.

 

Q&A Corner

Q. What is antimatter?

Q. What does the organization CERN stand for?

Q. Where is the organization CERN based?

Q. What is the name of the machine where antimatter is tested?

Download questions about antimatter here: antimatter (answers are on this page)

For further reading and more information on antimatter visit www.scienceinschool.org/antimatter