What is anti-matter?

Question

What is anti-matter? Why is there more matter than anti-matter in the universe?

Answer 1

In particle physics, antimatter is matter that is composed of the antiparticles of those that constitute normal matter. If a particle and its antiparticle come into contact with each other, the two annihilate; that is, they may both be 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.

Answer 2

I always looked at anti matter as being the opposite of everything
that is found in this (material) universe. Not just the differences
between two forms of matter. Also see Yahoo (What would
an anti matter person look like? ) for what I posted.

Anti matter is what every person and life form is made of.
Anti matter exists forever and is beyond all forms of time.
When our anti matter person touches matter we create an
image like a copier does from the original albeit through dense
and subtle matter into these forms we see like here on earth.
Since anti matter rotates at the speed of infinity or eternity
nothing that is created through time has the ability to see it.
The forms that we create just operate at too slow of a speed
to perceive any form of anti matter. The speed of light or sound
our mental senses experience is too slow to catch up to it.
Only a person who has the power to see fully beyond
the entire structure of this universe really can see anti matter.

Answer 3

In particle physics, antimatter is matter that is composed of the antiparticles of those that constitute normal matter. If a particle and its antiparticle come into contact with each other, the two annihilate; that is, they may both be converted into other particles with equal energy in accordance with Einstein's equation E = mc^2. 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.

Answer 4

Anti-matter is precisely the same as 'regular' matter except for electric charge. Why there's more matter than anti-matter in the universe remains a question that so far hasn't been totally explained.

Answer 5

Antimatter is made up of positrons, antineutrons and antiprotons instead of the normal electrons, neutrons and protons. It is the opposite of matter and will anihilate the form energy when brought in contact with matter(E=mcsquared).

Data in star trek has a positronic brain. Anti matter has been created in Physics labs and has existed for several nano-seconds.