Posted on 12/19/2016 4:31:37 PM PST by BenLurkin
Ever since the existence of antimatter was proposed in the early 20th century, scientists have sought to understand how relates to normal matter, and why there is an apparent imbalance between the two in the Universe. To do this, particle physics research in the past few decades has focused on the anti-particle of the most elementary and abundant atom in the Universe – the antihydrogen particle.
Until recently, this has been very difficult, as scientists have been able to produce antihydrogen, but unable to study it for long before it annihilated. But according to recent a study that was published in Nature, a team using the ALPHA experiment was able to obtain the first spectral information on antihydrogen. This achievement, which was 20 years in the making, could open up an entirely new era of research into antimatter.
...
Beginning in 1996, this research was conducted using the AnTiHydrogEN Apparatus (ATHENA) experiment, a part of the CERN Antiproton Decelerator facility. This experiment was responsible for capturing antiprotons and positrons, then cooling them to the point where they can combine to form anithydrogen. Since 2005, this task has become the responsibility of ATHENA’s successor, the ALPHA experiment.
Using updated instruments, ALPHA captures atoms of neutral antihydrogen and holds them for a longer period before they inevitably annihilate During this time, research teams conduct spectrographic analysis using ALPHA’s ultraviolet laser to see if the atoms obey the same laws as hydrogen atoms.
(Excerpt) Read more at universetoday.com ...
I’ll look them up.
Listening to Vince Guaraldi Trio and missing my city of five generations. (SF)
As I understand it, you will soon be able to go to the bathroom of your choice in North Carolina. So you've got that going for you.
How relates your comment to the subject? ;-P
Perhaps that is the genesis of supernovae? Sufficient matter and antimatter collide?
Perhaps that is the genesis of supernovae? Sufficient matter and antimatter collide?
Oops... my electrons must be tired.
As a rube, non-scientist living in GreenAcres allow me to help these uber-smart people out...
GOD said, Light be and Light is.
Wonderful! - Thanks for the link.
My favorite line: “An experimental check was maintained by replacing the last five bottles in each case with bottles of English beer, which the experimenters have discovered can only be drunk when extremely saturated with darkons (or “cold” in everyday language).”
So apparently the bloody CERN experiment was just an elaborate process for cooling their beer, cleverly disguised as a method for doing NMR on anti-matter.
You are welcome. I have been tracking Darkon research for 20 years or so.
“and just what is the speed of dark, anyways?”
Good question - unbeknownst to me, that value apparently has been determined (see the link in reply 50):
” . . . has shown the speed of darkon propagation to be
-2.5502072 x 10^8 mil/døgn
where the unit of distance, the Norwegian mil is equal to ten kilometres and the unit of time, the Norwegian døgn is, as we have previously indicated, 24 hours of total darkness.”
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