Antimatter is the most expensive substance in the universe, and CERN's Antimatter Factory is dedicated to producing and studying it to solve fundamental mysteries of physics.
The Mystery of Existence
According to the Big Bang theory, equal amounts of matter and antimatter should have been created and subsequently annihilated, leaving only radiation. However, the observable universe is made of matter. Physicists discovered that for every billion pairs that annihilated, one matter particle survived.
The Discovery of Antiparticles
Paul Dirac first predicted the existence of antimatter through his equation uniting special relativity and quantum mechanics, which required a negative energy solution. This was confirmed a year later with the discovery of the positron.
Parity and Symmetry Violation
For decades, the universe was thought to be perfectly symmetric. However, Chien-Shiung Wu's landmark 1956 experiment proved that the weak nuclear force violates parity symmetry, showing that the universe distinguishes between left and right.
Manufacturing Antiprotons
At CERN, protons are accelerated to 99.93% the speed of light and smashed into an iridium target. This violent collision creates showers of particles, including antiprotons, which are then filtered and slowed down for study.
Storing the Volatile
Because antimatter annihilates upon contact with normal matter, it must be stored in Penning traps. these devices use powerful magnetic and electric fields in a near-perfect vacuum to keep charged antiparticles suspended away from the container walls.
Testing Gravity
Experiments like ALPHA-g and GBAR aim to determine if antimatter falls at the same rate as matter. While initial results show antimatter falls down as expected, researchers are working to reach ultra-cold temperatures (micro-Kelvin) to achieve high-precision measurements.
Portable Antimatter
CERN has developed the world's first portable antimatter trap, allowing antiprotons to be stored for years and transported to other research institutions. This breakthrough expands the ability to study these particles outside the factory.
Scale and Safety
Despite the high cost, the total amount of antimatter produced at CERN over 25 years is less than a trillionth of a gram. This is far too little to be dangerous or used as a weapon; for comparison, a single banana produces a positron roughly every 75 minutes.