I am told that anti-matter is matter stripped of its electrons, is this true?
2007-06-12 15:41:54 · 8 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Physics
Anti-matter is composed of electrons and protons with opposite electrical charge from regular matter. An anti-matter electron is called a positron and has a positive charge.
When anti-matter interacts with normal matter, both are completely annihilated and converted to energy. This actually does happen in the core of stars like our Sun. Under the tremendous pressure and temperature at the core, protons are moving so fast that they amy overcome their normal electro repulsion to other protons and actually come very close or even contact. When they do get very close even briefly (closer than a millionth of a billionth of a meter) the "strong nuclear force" overcomes their electric repulsion and they stick together, releasing a positron. That positron then interacts with a free electron and both are completely consumed, releasing gamma rays that carry that energy to more outward layers of the star. So, antimatter is critical to the functioning of stars.
Antimatter can be made in very small quanities on Earth using particle accelerators. Because of the 100% coversion to energy, it would make a wonderful fuel! BUT - it's very hard to make it and even harder to store it in anything. Carefully controlled magnetic fields have been made into "magnetic bottles" to hold it briefly.
(For comparison, the nuclear reaction of a hydrogen bomb can convert, at best, 0.7% of the hydrogen into energy. A conventional atomic bomb can convert at best 0.1% of its reaction mass into energy. An antimatter - regular matter reaction converts 100% into energy!)
2007-06-12 16:20:08 · answer #1 · answered by Gary B 3 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Anti matter in general is considered to be matter constructed from anti particles. anti particles do exist but it is just regular particles with a different charge. An example would be the positron, it has exactly the same mass as a regular electron but a positive charge.
Anti matter doesnt exist in large quantities in our universe because there is so much more matter it will annihalte with its matter partner.
an example of a particle without an anti particle is the photon. As the photon is neutrally charged its anti particle is just itself.
2007-06-12 22:50:32 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes, antimatter exists. In fact it's routinely produced in high-energy particle accelerators.
Antimatter is exactly the same as 'regular' matter *except* the two have different electrical charges. For example, an electron has a negative charge while its antimatter twin has a positive charge (..'positron'..)
2007-06-12 23:57:04 · answer #3 · answered by Chug-a-Lug 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes, it exists, but that's not what it is. An antiproton, for example, is a particle with the same mass as a proton, but opposite charge. If it comes into contact with a proton, they annihilate, turning into high energy gamma rays. Atoms stripped of their electrons are called ions.
2007-06-12 22:48:32 · answer #4 · answered by Dr. R 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
This might be getting too technical, but anti-matter is NOT an example of super-symmetry, as suggested by the previous poster. Super-particles have yet to be discovered.
2007-06-13 02:03:46 · answer #5 · answered by robert 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
most of you have the correct idea, but are way off... anti-matter is the 'opposite' of matter
think it of a mirror image of whatever matter particle you are talking about... the electron's antiparticle is the positron. it has an opposite charge of a regular electron and when the 2 collide the anhilate instantainously...
anti-matter particles are a major proponent of what us physicists call 'super-symmetry' and calls for an anti-matter 'particle' for every 'matter particle' from the neutron down the the various sub-atomic particles such as quarks and the like (muons, neutrinos and even the higgs-boson)
2007-06-13 00:15:05 · answer #6 · answered by dirtybreaks 1 · 0⤊ 3⤋
Anti-matter exists, but not on this planet - at least naturally. It is believed they exist on universe, and it has been artificially created on earth but lived for very short period.
On this planet, protons at the middle is charged positive. Electrons that orbit protons are charged negative.
Anti-matters, on the other hand, protons are charged negative and electrons are charged positive.
2007-06-12 22:52:31 · answer #7 · answered by tkquestion 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Yes, it exists, but it's not matter stripped of electrons - that's just protons and neutrons. Anti-matter is different. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antimatter
2007-06-12 22:49:45 · answer #8 · answered by eri 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋