http://livefromcern.web.cern.ch/livefromcern/antimatter/
2006-06-09 21:02:04
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answer #1
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answered by Blue 6
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Antimatter is matter that is composed of the antiparticles of those that constitute normal matter. If a particle and its antiparticle come in contact with each other, the two annihilate, that is they are both converted into other particles with equal energy in accordance with Einstein's equation E = mc2. This gives rise to high energy photons (gamma rays) or other particle-antiparticle pairs. The resulting particles are endowed with an amount of kinetic energy equal to the difference between the rest mass of the products of the annihilation and the rest mass of the original particle-antiparticle pair, which is often quite large.
Antimatter is not found naturally on Earth, except very briefly and in vanishingly small quantities (as the result of radioactive decay or cosmic rays). This is because antimatter which came to exist on Earth outside the confines of a suitable physics laboratory would almost instantly meet the ordinary matter that earth is made of, and be annihilated. Antiparticles and some stable antimatter (such as antihydrogen) can be made in miniscule amounts, but not in enough quantity to do more than test a few of its theoretical properties.
There is considerable speculation both in science and science fiction as to why the observable universe is apparently almost entirely matter, whether other places are almost entirely antimatter instead, and what might be possible if antimatter could be harnessed, but at this time the apparent asymmetry of matter and antimatter in the visible universe is one of the great unsolved problems in physics. Possible processes by which it came about are explored in more detail under baryogenesis.
2006-06-10 05:49:45
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answer #2
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answered by Anonymous
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Wikipedia
2006-06-10 03:59:58
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answer #3
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answered by ag_iitkgp 7
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I just did a google search on anti-matter, dark matter, and lysergic acid diethylamide all with good results.
2006-06-10 04:02:47
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answer #4
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answered by elreybrown 2
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Use the available search engines for 'anti-matter'
Many references and theories available
2006-06-15 08:25:05
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answer #5
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answered by 63vette 7
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