Anti-matter: All You Need To Know About It
By: Syed Ayaan
Tags: Particle, Antimatter, Mystery, Universe, Science

What is anti-matter? Why is it there? How much is there? Do we need it? Do we have a whole universe made up of anti-matter? These are the questions that come to the mind of ordinary people. In this article, you will find an answer to all questions.

The majority of us have already learned about the matter in detail in our high schools. We know that matter is anything that occupies space and has mass. Everything is a matter in our universe. But do we know about this thing called anti-matter?

What is Anti-matter?

To comprehend anti-matter, we need to understand more about the matter. Matter contains sub-atomic particles that are the fundamental elements of this world, like Sodium, Potassium, etc. No matter what element it is, every atom contains the nucleus that is the heart of it. The nucleus comprises protons that have a positive charge and neutrons that are neutral. Electrons that are negatively charged orbits around this nucleus.

Anti-matter, as its name implies, is the opposite of matter. Though, they contain the same mass and almost identical properties as normal matter. What differentiates them is their reversed electric charge. For every electron, there exists an anti-electron (positron), that behaves similarly to the electron but has a positive charge. Likewise, For every proton, there exists an anti-proton that behaves the same as the proton but has a negative charge on it.

This is because every particle of matter has a mirror particle(anti-particle) that acts the same as the normal particle but carries an opposite electric charge. For example, every positron of anti-oxygen will have the same properties as the normal oxygen electron, but it will carry a positive charge instead of a negative one.

History Of Anti-matter

Paul Dirac, who was an English physicist, first introduced us to the concept of anti-matter. He discovered it while he was working on Einstein’s theory of relativity and quantum physics by combining their equations. He found out that the equation worked for both — electrons with a negative charge and, also, with a positive charge.

The presence of anti-matter was confirmed in 1932 by an American physicist Carl D. Anderson. Paul Dirac was awarded the noble prize in 1933, while Anderson received it in 1936.

Over the last 50–60 years, scientists have created anti-matter in the labs artificially. The problem with producing it artificially is that it is expensive, time-consuming, and energy-consuming. Consequently, anti-matter is present in the labs, but at a minute amount.

Where Is The Anti-matter?

Scientists believe that matter and anti-matter must have been created in the same amounts after the big bang. Why the matter is in excess in our universe is one of the biggest questions that science still cannot answer today. There are many theories related to this question. For example, one theory suggests that a whole universe made up of anti-matter is present that we are yet to discover.

The Interesting thing about anti-matter is that it is closer to us than we think. A banana gives out a positron after every 75 minutes because of the decomposition of Potassium-40 present in it. As our body also contains Potassium-40, we emit positrons too.

Moreover, a minor amount of anti-matter comes from space, into the earth’s atmosphere, in the form of cosmic rays.

What Happens When Matter And Anti-matter Meet?

When matter and anti-matter meet, they destroy each other, and the reaction makes energy. This fact forces us to think that if matter and anti-matter were created in the same amounts, then it is sure that they would have annihilated each other, and all of this universe and we, would never have come into existence.

It is impossible that matter and anti-matter were produced in different amounts after the big bang. And at the same time, we cannot say that they were created in the same amounts because if that’s the case, then we should not have existed.

Could We Use Anti-matter As A Fuel?

We live in a world today, where energy is essential for our everyday life. The main source of this energy is fossil fuels. Fossil fuels are produced every minute while we are using them. This makes them a reliable source of energy, however, scientists say that we are using them at a rate, faster than they can produce.

photo by Rock Staar on Unsplash

Therefore, scientists are looking for other sources of energy as well. One of them is anti-matter. Anti-matter could be an ideal source of energy as its reaction with matter produces a thousand times more energy than those reactions that we are using at present.

You might be wondering, why are we not using them? Well! The answer to this question is that, unfortunately, anti-matter is extremely expensive to create. Each year, we make around a trillionth of a gram of anti-matter, which is only capable of lighting a 100-watt bulb for only three seconds.

But do not worry because scientists are constantly looking for ways to produce anti-matter that is cost-effective and efficient. Some predict that it will take 55–65 years to use anti-matter as a fuel.

Anti-matter As A Weapon

photo by Marc Szeglat on Unsplash

You might have seen an anti-matter weapon in movies or television shows. Nevertheless, this has not yet been possible in real life. This is because anti-matter is very expensive to produce.

But who knows! When anti-matter is easy and cheap to produce in the future, there will surely be anti-matter weapons. We should know that this weapon will be more destructive than a nuclear weapon.

Conclusion

The mystery of anti-matter remains unsolved. We hope that scientists can find answers regarding all the prospects of anti-matter. Anti-matter has its pros and cons for this world. But, we should keep in mind that, if all the questions related to the anti-matter are answered, then it will be the biggest development in the scientific world of the twenty-first century.