Antimatter
Definition
Antimatter is a type of matter composed of antiparticles, which have the same mass as particles of ordinary matter but opposite charges. When antimatter and matter meet, they annihilate each other, releasing energy.
5 Must Know Facts For Your Next Test
- Antimatter particles have opposite electric charges compared to their corresponding matter particles.
- The collision between matter and antimatter results in annihilation, converting their mass into energy according to E=mc².
- Antimatter was first predicted by Paul Dirac in 1928 and the positron, an antielectron, was discovered in 1932 by Carl Anderson.
- In the early universe after the Big Bang, nearly equal amounts of matter and antimatter were created.
- The scarcity of naturally occurring antimatter in the universe remains one of the unsolved questions in cosmology.
Review Questions
- What happens when a particle of matter encounters a particle of antimatter?
- Who first predicted the existence of antimatter and what is an example of an antiparticle?
- Why is the imbalance between matter and antimatter significant in understanding the early universe?
"Antimatter" appears in:
Subjects (2)
Related terms
Relativity: A theory formulated by Albert Einstein that describes how space and time are interconnected and how objects move within them.
Big Bang: The scientific theory that explains the origin of the universe as an expansion from a hot, dense state about 13.8 billion years ago.
Positron: The antiparticle or antimatter counterpart of the electron with a positive charge.
