Antiprotons enter the experimental areas from the AD, and are slowed down even more with thin degrader coils. They then go into a special apparatus called a Penning-Malmberg trap. The trap is a brass cylinder, small enough to fit on a scientist's desk, with several cylindrical electrodes inside. The trap is put in a magnetic field. Inside, charged particles are contained using the magnetic field and the electric field generated by the electrodes.
Researchers then inject a cloud of cooled electrons into the chamber.
Then, a small opening appears between the two, and they are allowed to mix. There are several techniques for encouraging antihydrogen formation, and researchers are experimenting with which ones are more effective. They expect to be able to create between 10 and 100 atoms per second. The back ends of electronic consoles are lined up like books on the shelves in an experimental area. Once the atoms are formed, they drift toward the electrodes nearby, and annihilate.