Antimatter

Everything in the universe is balanced. Everything in life is balanced. There are two opposite charges, two magnetic poles- everything in pairs to cancel each other out, to neutralize one another. Likewise, there exists antimatter, the exact opposite of matter. Antimatter is not just some sci-fi concept, it is very much real. In fact, they also have been synthesized by humans. Feeling like the earth under your feet is slipping away? Well don’t worry, there is more to come.

Antimatter constitutes of antiparticles, which are the exact opposites in every aspect to their matter counterparts. For example, positron is the antiparticle for an electron. They are identical in mass but opposite in energy/charge. A proton’s antiparticle is an anti-proton. Antimatter is a mere aggregation of these antiparticles. An interaction between matter and antimatter can lead to their mutual annihilation, meaning conversion of mass into equivalent amount of energy available as heat or work which is governed by Einstein’s mass-energy conversion relationship, i.e.,

E= mc²

Well now the question is- where is all the antimatter? According to theory, when Big Bang happened, there was an equal amount of matter and antimatter created. Given that their properties are the exact opposites, there should have been their mutual annihilation the moment they were created, meaning the universe would be just full of light (or energy). That would straight away eliminate our existence but here we are, surviving and thriving and trying to decode the mysteries of our universe. This can only mean two things- either the theory is wrong, or our understanding of antimatter physics is not appropriate. There has to be an explanation for this imbalance (or is it an imbalance at all…!), because the reality is matter and antimatter somehow got rid of each other’s grasp and hence we exist the way we do. Moreover, experiments stand behind the surplus matter even if there ever had been an annihilation event. However, they don’t provide any final word on where all the antimatter went.

But how do you make antimatter? How can one possibly synthesize something which vanishes the moment it comes in contact with any matter? Well, this is the major challenge against its synthesis. Currently two CERN (The European Organization for Nuclear Research) experiments (using the LHC), ATRAP and APLHA are wrestling with the problem. The goal is to produce anti-hydrogen by combining an antiproton and a positron in sufficient amount so that a comparison may just be possible.

And how lethal can antimatter be? Can it be weaponized? Well, it very well can but not so soon. We are not that capable yet. If we sum up the amount of antimatter we have been able to create till date, the energy that would be produced won’t even be able to boil a cup of coffee. But there sure is a possibility for the same happening somewhere ahead in the future.

The bottom line is, we have not yet been able to understand the physics of antimatter, or should I say our knowledge on antimatter physics is not that profound. Currently, several teams of scientists are working on developing a better understanding of the subject and we hope they find something soon. As much of threat antimatter is to the very existence of matter, discovering proper manipulation technologies may help harness its complete potential.

Written by

Divyajyoti Biswal