Physicists
led by Canadian researchers under the ALPHA Collaboration have mapped
out the structure of antihydrogen, hydrogen's antimatter equivalent,
through spectroscopy. This comes only after nine months since a team at
CERN succeeded in measuring the spectrum of light emitted by
antihydrogen.
To manage this feat, the ALPHA Collaboration
cranked up CERN's Antiproton Decelerator to produce 90,000 antiprotons.
Along with 1.6 million positrons, the researchers managed to make about
25,000 antihydrogen atoms. Out of all these antimatter particles, the
team managed to trap only 194 atoms in a special force field to keep
them from touching 'normal' matter and instead blast them with
microwaves to observe their varying reactions.
Not too surprising, it
was found that antihydrogen's spectral lines are identical to those of
hydrogen. Had this been even slightly different, this would have posed a
major problem to the Standard Model of physics which predicts that all
particles have a twin (e.g. electron & positron, proton &
antiproton). This discovery rules out the possibility that the structure
of antimatter might have something to do with why the Universe is made
out of matter and not antimatter.
Read more about this fascinating story at: http://www.sciencealert.com/physicists-have-captured-the-first-spectral-fingerprints-of-antimatter
Popular Posts
-
When it comes to cosmic timescales, the human mind is often incapable of grasping their sheer enormity. So when a group of scientists an...
-
The three most common states of matter (solid, liquid, and gas) have been known to humans for as long as we have been able to observe...
-
Maud Menten (1879-1960) was a Canadian biochemist and organic chemist. During her career, her primary research focused on enzymes. In 199...
-
Stem cells seem to be a great addition to the packages of products that claim to be effective and organic. So far, the Food and Dru...
-
An international team composed of over 200 astronomers from 18 countries has published new findings from the first phase of a new s...

Saturday, August 5, 2017
FIRST SPECTRAL FINGERPRINTS OF ANTIMATTER MAPPED OUT
About NewsOfTheUniverse.com
The BIGGEST daily headlines in Astronomy, Technology, Biology and in All of Nature! We also feature talented astrophotographers and their works weekly.Initially beginning as a small-time hobby of a bored high-school student, NewsoftheUniverse.com has grown across multiple platforms and has grown into a distinct and unique entity. Run exclusively by students of all ages, NewsoftheUniverse.com is your one stop to finding your daily scoop on all things astronomy, technology and biology - all to be read in less than five minutes.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Write comments