If so, can it fit on the perodic table?
2006-09-17 05:08:44 · 5 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
By "black matter", I guess you mean "Dark Matter". No one knows what Dark Matter is, although some of its properties are known. The best scientific guess at present is that Dark matter is made of "axions", a particle that is predicted to exist by some particle physics theories, and which seems to have the right properties.
Many particles have "anti-particles", an anti-matter counterpart. There's nothing prticularly "wierd" about anti-particles, they're just negative excitations of the particle field. Particle accelerators tend to make equal amounts of particles and anti-particles, so anti-particles are made all the time, and are well-studied. All the particles that make up atoms have anti-particles, and so an anti-atom could be made up of antiparticles. I believe that anti-hydrogen has been made. Anti- versions of all the other elements could also be made, in principle. It is an interesting question whether the energy levels of these anti-atoms would be exactly the same as regular atoms, or very slightly different. The anti-atoms would have a periodic table and chemistry just like regular atoms, with anti- versions of each element. Anti-matter does not have negative gravity, it has positive gravity.
In the first second of the Big Bang, there were nearly equal amounts of matter and antimatter. Most of this annihilated, leaving the small amount of matter we see now. This was well before any atoms formed. Why there was a little more matter than anti-matter is still an open question, that may be answered by future, better physical theories.
2006-09-17 07:37:07 · answer #1 · answered by cosmo 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Antimatter has been observed in the lab but it is highly unstable and mysterious as when it comes into contact with matter, it destroys itself. As far as the periodic table goes, for each element on the table, there would be an antielement, so we would need a second table for just antimatter. This link attached is very helpful.
2006-09-17 12:14:50 · answer #2 · answered by merfur 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Dark matter and antmatter are completely different things. Antimatter is created all the time.
2006-09-17 12:32:02 · answer #3 · answered by bruinfan 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes we have created antimatter
2006-09-17 14:31:22 · answer #4 · answered by bprice215 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It has been made but it cannot be added to the periodic table because it is not an element.
2006-09-17 12:12:44 · answer #5 · answered by kky 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋