Questions tagged [antimatter]

Analogous to matter, but with charge of the particles opposite to their ordinary matter counterparts.

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What is the strongest evidence that anti-matter exists?

Every space show I watch mentions that anti-matter used to exist, or still does and we just can't detect it. I think some shows even say we can create a small amount of anti-matter. It is not presented as an unproven conjecture like string theory,…
zgirod
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What exactly "triggers" a matter/antimatter detonation?

I know that when matter touches antimatter, they both explode and turn into energy. However, by my understanding, atoms don't really touch; their nuclei don't physically contact each other, since electromagnetic repulsion keeps them away. If this…
Somatic
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How fast is the matter and antimatter reaction compared to nuclear chain reaction?

What I mean is, the nuclear chain reactions take microseconds for every generation and that is the reason that nuclear weapons exist. Because in nuclear reactors the reaction rate is much slower thus it can be controlled and prevent it from…
Hurricane
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Is the pH of antimatter the reverse of the pH for matter?

If it does have a pH, I mean. Though I don't see why it shouldn't have it. Both the Brønsted-Lowry and Lewis definitions of acid have to do with the ability of a substance to accept, or provide protons or pairs of electrons in certain reactions. I…
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What is the most common form of antimatter in the universe?

During our high energy accelerator collisions we are bale to produce antimatter. Processes in the Sun produce positrons. Neutron decay produces anti-neutrinos. Cosmic rays can produce a myriad of particles. What is the most abundant antiparticle in…
Alex
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Large-scale antimatter production

From what I can find, presently the only known means of producing antimatter consist of directing particle accelerators at various targets, and only infrequently getting positrons or anti-protons as byproducts of particle interactions. Assuming a…
feetwet
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Hydrogen vs Antihelium (or vice versa)

I think it's fairly common knowledge that matter and antimatter annihilate each other on contact. But what happens if two dissimilar atoms collide? For example, what happens if a Hydrogen atom (1 proton, 1 electron) contacts an antihelium atom (2…
Bobson
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What is antimatter?

Can you give a visual example of what is antimatter? With the re-opening of Large Haldron Collider scheduled in Mar 2015, I'm reading that they smash two particles together to try to re-create particles that might have been there are the beginning…
Glowie
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Why can't we use the laser based methods for creating anti-matter as a fuel?

A few years ago scientists were able to form positrons using gold from a laser. Why can't we just use a sort of positrion plasma as a kind of fuel? I presume it would be too hard to contain them all because of the enormous positive electric feild…
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Particle antiparticle annihilation-do they have to be of the same type?

I read that a particle will meet its antiparticle and annihilate to generate a photon. Is it important for the pairs to be of the same type? What will happen when for example a neutron meets an antiproton or a proton meets a positron? Are there any…
Jus12
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Have there been attempts to create heavier antimatter particles?

This is a follow-on from previous question: It seems as though all experiments concerning antimatter have only been conducted with antimatter protons - as they are obtainable through decay. Have any heavier elements been attempted? eg. has there…
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Are there any differences between photons emited /absorbed by antimatter atoms to photon in usual atoms?

(Theoretically) Are there any differences between photons emited /absorbed by antimatter atoms to photon in usual atoms? for example, is it impossible to tell the difference between a photon emmited by an atom and it's anti matter counter part?…
jimjim
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During the production of antiprotons with an iridium target, does the target have to be replaced?

I mean, to keep producing the same amount of antiprotons for every proton beam. If so, what's the maximum total amount of antiprotons that can be produced (not trapped) with a target with a certain size/mass? I read that in Fermilab for each 200,000…
James
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Why is the minimum amount of energy a photon has is equal to the rest energy of one of the particles?

Why is the minimum amount of energy a photon has is equal to the rest energy of one of the particle ? I know that the the minimum possible energy a photon may have is only the rest energy of particles is converted. But if that's the case then the…
Richie
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Positron losing energy but is not destroyed

In August 1932, Anderson photographed a positron originating from cosmic rays as it entered a bubble chamber, passed through a 6mm lead plate (in the process loosing energy, as apparent from the changed radius of its path through the chamber). My…
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