After five years and 335 experimental trials, a new milestone in the study of antimatter has been reached. Ever since the early 20th century, scientists have postulated that antimatter existed at the start of the universe. Antimatter is made up of partner particles to existing matter, whose sole difference from the particles in regular matter is charge.
One example is a positron, the partner particle of an electron, which has the same size and mass but the opposite charge. Because of this property, once antimatter comes into contact with matter, annihilation occurs and only energy remains. Scientists believe that at the start of the universe, matter was more abundant than antimatter. Thus, when the Big Bang occurred, the amount of energy skyrocketed as antimatter collided with matter. Because matter was more plentiful, however, no natural antimatter is observable in the world today.
By studying antimatter, scientists aim to provide evidence for this theory and potentially explain the start of the universe, as well as provide a future source of fuel.\nScientists recently have come one step closer to this goal by trapping antimatter atoms for the first time. At the particle physics laboratory known as the European Organization for Nuclear Research, located in Geneva, Switzerland, researchers trapped 38 antihydrogen atoms for a 10th of a second.
The laboratory managed to produce antimatter in 2002, but it had a very short life span because the atoms came into contact with walls of the container, causing annihilation. To prevent such an outcome this time, researchers devised a magnetic field that traps the atoms at the center of the tubing device to block matter and antimatter contact. Scientists are now working to create a beam of antimatter rather than individual particles for future study.
-compiled by Michelle Lim
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