![antimatter star antimatter star](https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.ford-trucks.com-vbulletin/1280x960/cdbd5562_4101_468a_b80b_4ab45c25d21d_4bb8393fa8145befec3bb56b798dcbfe160c43b7.jpeg)
Since antimatter particles themselves are essentially identical to regular particles with the main difference being the reversal of their charge, antiparticles interact with each other in very familiar patterns. So rather than one up quark and two down quarks as in an ordinary neutron, antineutrons will instead be made out of an up antiquark and two down antiquarks, which is an important difference between these and something like a photon. In the case of neutral composite antiparticles like the antineutron, the net charge and mass will be the same as its ordinary matter counterpart, but these are still composite particles made up of antiquark complements to the ordinary neutron's quarks. There are also more elementary antiparticles like antineutrinos, while some particles are their own antiparticle (typically elementary bosons like photons or the hypothetical graviton), that do not interact with each other but simply pass through one another. These combine to form positrons, antiprotons, and antineutrons, which is mostly what we are concerned with when we commonly talk about antimatter. The various quarks make up the matter as we know it and thus have complementary antiquarks. Wherever ordinary matter will have positive baryon or lepton numbers, antimatter will have negative baryon and lepton numbers.Įvery particle of matter in physics is known or hypothesized to have an antiparticle equivalent, even photons. So, whereas an electron is a negatively charged particle with a quantifiable atomic mass, a positron is a positively charged particle with the same atomic mass as an electron.īoth matter and antimatter can be defined by their baryon or lepton numbers. In simple physical terms, antimatter is the mirror image of ordinary matter, but with the opposite electrical charge. "This is a must read for fans of science and science fiction alike." -John Gribbin, last bit is the real challenge, obviously, but it's helped drive new innovations with antimatter that could help power warping drives sooner than you'd think.
![antimatter star antimatter star](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/oJW-3YEs0x4/hqdefault.jpg)
This book will inspire a sense of awe in even the most seasoned of physics readers." Looking at the remarkable prediction of antimatter and how it grew from the meeting point of relativity and quantum theory in the early 20th century, at the discovery of the first antiparticles, at cosmic rays, annihilation, antimatter bombs, and antiworlds, Close separates the facts from the fiction about antimatter, and explains how its existence can give us profound clues about the origins and structure of the universe.įor all those wishing to take a closer look at the flip side of the visible world, this lucidly written book shines a bright light into a truly strange realm. Today, antimatter does not exist normally, at least on Earth, but we know that it is real, as scientists are now able to make small pieces of it in particle accelerators, such as that at CERN in Geneva. We know that at one time antimatter and matter existed in perfect counterbalance, and that antimatter then perpetrated a vanishing act on a cosmic scale that remains one of the great mysteries of the universe. Antimatter is an idea long beloved of science-fiction writers-but here, renowned science writer Frank Close shows that the reality of antimatter is even more intriguing than the fiction.
![antimatter star antimatter star](https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KJmgAtz_nwQ/UAlFNBcETkI/AAAAAAAAAH0/wjf2Tw7JF2s/s1600/Dilithiumcrystals.jpg)
It is also one of the most difficult, literally and figuratively, to grasp.Īntimatter explores this strange mirror world, where particles have identical yet opposite properties to those that make up the familiar matter we encounter everyday, where left becomes right, positive becomes negative, and where-should matter and antimatter meet-the resulting flash of blinding energy would make even thermonuclear explosions look feeble by comparison. Of all the mind-bending discoveries of physics-quarks, black holes, strange attractors, curved space-the existence of antimatter is one of the most bizarre.