Post by account_disabled on Mar 10, 2024 20:45:38 GMT -8
A new experiment carried out at the antimatter factory of the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) confirmed that antiparticles are affected by the Earth's gravitational field like regular particles, that is, they fall downward. The study of the behavior of this form of matter represents a significant advance that lays the foundation for future applications and to better understand its role in the universe.
The long road to antimatter
Antimatter is a special form of matter made up of particles that have elec Phone Number List trical charges opposite to conventional ones . Just as there are electrons and protons, there are also positrons and antiprotons. When opposite pairs touch, they disintegrate, producing energy in the process.
Paul Dirac presented his theory of antimatter in 1928, supporting it only with mathematical foundations. In 1932, the physicist Carl Anderson managed to detect the first antiparticle, the positron , based on Dirac's postulates and, in 1955, an antiproton was created with the help of a particle accelerator.
Scientists have not detected antiparticles in the “wild” state, out there in the outside world. The proportion of antimatter is not symmetrical relative to conventional matter. However, the researchers were able to create it by applying all the experience acquired with positrons and antiprotons. In 2010, the first atoms of antihydrogen , the simplest composition that exists, were produced by combining both antiparticles.
Particle colliders are where antimatter is manufactured
Particle colliders are where antimatter is manufactured (Photo: Johannes Simon/Getty Images)
The equivalence principle and the gravitational interaction of matter
Today, the production of basic antimolecules is no longer a challenge. The particle colliders of the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) generate them periodically to create reserves and use them in studies. It took almost 40 years to recreate antimatter, and only then were physicists able to experiment with it as well as conventional matter.
One of the first questions that arose was whether antimatter is attracted by the force of gravity , or whether it reacts repulsively to it. After all, antiparticles are characterized by having properties symmetrical to normal ones. Until now, the issue had not been resolved because antihydrogen is isolated and kept suspended by electromagnetic fields to prevent its interaction with conventional hydrogen.
In the theory of general relativity proposed by Albert Einstein, there is the principle of weak equivalence . The guideline states that all masses must react identically to gravity, regardless of their internal structure. However, Einstein never considered the existence of antimatter in his postulates, so it was necessary to determine whether the theory was also valid for unimagined particles.
The long road to antimatter
Antimatter is a special form of matter made up of particles that have elec Phone Number List trical charges opposite to conventional ones . Just as there are electrons and protons, there are also positrons and antiprotons. When opposite pairs touch, they disintegrate, producing energy in the process.
Paul Dirac presented his theory of antimatter in 1928, supporting it only with mathematical foundations. In 1932, the physicist Carl Anderson managed to detect the first antiparticle, the positron , based on Dirac's postulates and, in 1955, an antiproton was created with the help of a particle accelerator.
Scientists have not detected antiparticles in the “wild” state, out there in the outside world. The proportion of antimatter is not symmetrical relative to conventional matter. However, the researchers were able to create it by applying all the experience acquired with positrons and antiprotons. In 2010, the first atoms of antihydrogen , the simplest composition that exists, were produced by combining both antiparticles.
Particle colliders are where antimatter is manufactured
Particle colliders are where antimatter is manufactured (Photo: Johannes Simon/Getty Images)
The equivalence principle and the gravitational interaction of matter
Today, the production of basic antimolecules is no longer a challenge. The particle colliders of the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) generate them periodically to create reserves and use them in studies. It took almost 40 years to recreate antimatter, and only then were physicists able to experiment with it as well as conventional matter.
One of the first questions that arose was whether antimatter is attracted by the force of gravity , or whether it reacts repulsively to it. After all, antiparticles are characterized by having properties symmetrical to normal ones. Until now, the issue had not been resolved because antihydrogen is isolated and kept suspended by electromagnetic fields to prevent its interaction with conventional hydrogen.
In the theory of general relativity proposed by Albert Einstein, there is the principle of weak equivalence . The guideline states that all masses must react identically to gravity, regardless of their internal structure. However, Einstein never considered the existence of antimatter in his postulates, so it was necessary to determine whether the theory was also valid for unimagined particles.