in layman's terms what exactly is anti-matter?

Answer 1

What they said above me.

Answer 2

The short answer is that most subatomic particles have two forms, the regular ones that we are used to, and their opposite, for example, the electron is negatively charged, and its opposite is the positron, of equal mass and size, but with a positive charge instead of negative. The Proton has its opposite too, in fact, most subatomic particles do. If these particles come together in the right configuration, then they can form an atom exactly the opposite of what we would call normal matter. ie Hydrogen with an anti-proton and a positron would be anti-hydrogen. The same atom, but with the opposite charges. Theoretically, all matter will have its opposite, somewhere in the universe, assuming that the two forms of matter are created in the same proportions.

Answer 3

Have you ever seen those special noise-deadening headphones? People wear them in areas where there is a loud. constant background noise - something like an engine, say - and the headphones produce sound waves which cancel out the waves coming from the engine, so it's quieter than if the sound were just muffled, and other sounds (eg a colleague speaking to you) can get through.

Anti-matter is a bit like that. You have heard, I guess, that all of our tiniest particles are made up of waves. Well, anti-matter is made up of particles which are like the "cancelling wave" for ordinary matter - opposite electrical charge, and so on - and if they meet particles of ordinary matter, both disappear.

The only thing they aren't opposite in is mass - both would weigh a positive amount. That's because mass is really energy (hence Einstein's E=mc2) and both have energy. When matter and anti-matter meet, their combined mass is given out as a pulse of high-energy radiation.

Answer 4

It is all to do with quantum properties of elementary particles and the ways in which they can react. Some time in the 1920s a physicist called Dirac was working on an equation that describes matter and found that it had 2 sets of solutions both of which fitted observations. He picked on one set of solutions to fit the 'real' solution and called the other solution antimatter. Alot of particle physics is controlled by conservation laws which describe which reactions are possible and which are not. Antimatter has opposite values for most quantum properties so the conservation laws allow for reactions where 2 particles with opposite values for each parameter can react to produce particles with values of 0. There are only a few particles with 0 in all the conserved values and in practice this means that they can react to produce photons - 2 photons are always required to conserve momentum.

E.G.

proton + antiproton react to form 2 photons which have the same energy as the e=mc^2 of the 2 protons.
The same applies to neutrons and electrons so as atoms are composed of protons,neutrons and electrons the antiparticles in one atom can react with particles in another. In practice it is unlikely to be complete atoms, just a single antiparticle reacting with the corresponding particle in an atom.

Answer 5

In layman's terms (and therefore using analogy) I'd probably describe anti-matter as the mirror-image of matter, i.e. the opposite of the stuff that makes up everything in the universe.

When I say 'opposite', though, I mean in the sense that 'left' is opposite to 'right', rather than that 'light' is the opposite of 'heavy'. Anti-matter is everything that matter is.

Unlike a mirror-image, though, when matter and anti-matter meet, they destroy one another in a highly energetic explosion.

Answer 6

antimatter is the counterpart of matter all of it's properties are reversed such as charge. So for example the antimatter equivilent of an electron is a positron, it is the exact opposite of an electron. When a piece of matter meets it's antimatter equivilent they ahnialate each-other leaving only high energy Electro-magnetic radiation (gamma rays).
Antimatter can also be mathematically described as matter travelling backward in time.
if you want to know more look up some 'feynmann diagrams'

Answer 7

lol....Sarah! Good one.

It's like an anti-goverment. Instead of taxing you, they *give* you money. Does that help?

It's matter that makes up things we are familiar with, but it has the opposite charge. When it (anti-matter) comes into contact with 'regular' matter they combine and give off energy and essentially annihilate each other.

Answer 8

the opposite of matter
in the beginning there was both forms
matter is about particle spin
matter spins right
anti left
I think is how it goes,,,,
there was just enough matter in the beginning
to dominate so we live in a matter universe

Answer 9

Oooph - Tough to put in laymens terms...

Basically - you have matter - protons with a positive charge, electrons with a negative charge and neutrons, made up of one positively charged proton, and one negatively charged electron.

Anti-matter is made of protons with a negative charge, electrons with a positive charge, and neutrons with a negatively charged proton and a positively charged electron.

When brought together, matter and anti-matter destroy one another completely - turning into pure energy...

Hope that helps.

-dh

Answer 10

It's the exact opposite of matter. When the universe was created both matter and antimatter were created but in our region in space matter dominates antimatter but in other galaxies and solar-systems antimatter may dominate. Also when matter and antimatter meet they anhilalate each other.

Answer 11

Uncle-matters wife!