British physicist Paul Dirac predicted antimatter with his beautiful equations, leading to the discovery of positrons. Despite being mundane in physics, antimatter is used in labs and hospitals. The mystery remains why there isn't more antimatter in the universe, challenging scientists to develop new physics. Guests delve into matter structure, antimatter properties, practical applications, and the interplay between theory and experiment in physics.
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Quick takeaways
Antimatter particles mirror matter counterparts in mass, size, and charge, differing in polarity and spin.
Universe's significant matter-antimatter asymmetry poses mysteries, with labs creating antimatter but facing containment challenges.
Deep dives
Understanding Antimatter and Its Properties
Antimatter particles mirror their matter counterparts in many ways, with similar mass, size, and electric charge. However, the key distinction is in the charge polarity, with an electron having a negative charge while its antimatter counterpart, the positron, has a positive charge. This duality extends to the opposite directions of spin as well, defining a fundamental but subtle difference in behavior between matter and antimatter.
The Mystery of Matter-Antimatter Asymmetry
While antimatter is artificially produced in labs, the universe exhibits a profound asymmetry in its abundance, with significantly more matter than antimatter present. Scientists ponder the origin of this disparity, with theories like baryogenesis exploring the generation of matter in the early universe. Despite creating antimatter for practical purposes, the challenge lies in containing and storing it due to its annihilative nature when meeting matter.
Unveiling New Physics through Particle Colliders
Particle accelerators like the Large Hadron Collider at CERN aim to unlock the mysteries of the universe by colliding particles at tremendous energies. These experiments recreate conditions resembling the aftermath of the Big Bang, offering insights into the nature of matter and antimatter interactions. Through such high-energy collisions, physicists strive to reveal hidden phenomena and expand our understanding of the fundamental forces governing the cosmos.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Antimatter, a type of particle predicted by the British physicist, Paul Dirac. Dirac once declared that “The laws of nature should be expressed in beautiful equations”. True to his word, he is responsible for one of the most beautiful. Formulated in 1928, it describes the behaviour of electrons and is called the Dirac equation. But the Dirac equation is strange. For every question it gives two answers – one positive and one negative. From this its author concluded that for every electron there is an equal and opposite twin. He called this twin the anti-electron and so the concept of antimatter was born.Despite its popularity with Science Fiction writers, antimatter is relatively mundane in physics – we have created antimatter in the laboratory and we even use it in our hospitals. But one fundamental question remains – why isn’t there more antimatter in the universe. Answering that question will involve developing new physics and may take us closer to understanding events at the origin of the universe. With Val Gibson, Reader in High Energy Physics at the University of Cambridge; Frank Close, Professor of Physics at Exeter College, University of Oxford; Ruth Gregory, Professor of Mathematics and Physics at the University of Durham
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