1. A PowerPoint on the “Matter” of… Antimatter
By: Kayla Sgarlata

2. The History of Antimatter
First theorized by a scientist named Paul Dirac in 1931
First ‘anti-electron’ or ‘positron’ discovered by Carl D. Anderson in 1932
Idea gained fame in a lecture in the Royal Society in London
United States presented pictures of ‘ghost-like trails of particles’
Lead scientists to begin investigating these particles more seriously
Today, scientists have experimentally proven the existence of antimatter, and have even created some

3. What is Antimatter? When the two collide, they…
Antimatter is essentially matter but with an opposite charge.
There are 3 basic particles…
Protons – Antiproton
Neutron – Antineutron
Electron – Positron
When the two collide, they…

4. ANNIHILATE!

5. Annihilation Annihilation follows 3 basic rules…
Conservation of Energy
Conservations of Momentum
Conservation of Charge

6. Origins of Antimatter
Origin of Antimatter dates back to the origin of the universe.. THE BIG BANG!
Both matter and antimatter were created moments after the Big Bang, but the two annihilated each other, banishing antimatter from our universe.

7. So… Why Matter?
Theoretically, the Big Bang would have created equal amounts of matter and antimatter, which would have annihilated each other, leaving nothing.
Scientists still don’t know why matter outnumbered antimatter, but it did by a factor of 1,000,000,000 antimatter particles to 1,000,000,001 matter particles
Our universe was created out of the ‘left-overs’

8. Antimatter in Space?
One theory to solve the great ‘creation mystery’ says that an equal amount of antimatter DID exist, and still DOES exist, somewhere out in space.
Research being conducted by Samuel Ting
Using particle detectors in the ISS to search for signs of antimatter.

9. Is antimatter the same thing as dark matter?
Common Misconception…
Is antimatter the same thing as dark matter?

10. NOPE

11. Dark Matter vs. Antimatter
Dark matter is matter that must exist in our universe, but that we cannot see.
There is a SLIGHT possibility that some of it may be antimatter, but it is very unlikely, as antimatter would annihilate anytime it encountered matter, and we haven’t seen any indication of annihilation in the universe

12. Meanwhile on Earth…
CERN, a Swiss research center is smashing atoms together in a particle accelerator
The high speed collisions resemble conditions during the big bang, which leads to creation of matter and antimatter
Particles are sped up to nearly the speed of light using strong pulsating magnets
Once created, antimatter must be slowed down using a particle decelerator

13. Applications of Antimatter
Antimatter is currently used in PET brain scans,
It has also been used in experiments to fight various cancer tumors

14. Implications of Antimatter
Scientists believe that if they can further research antimatter, they may have a better clue of what happened at the beginning of the universe
Some believe that antimatter implies the existence of another ‘parallel’ universe, same as ours, just made out of the left-over antimatter instead of matter.
NOTE: There is NO scientific proof of this theory, but it is a possibility

15. Some Questions I had…
How can scientists store antimatter, if anytime it interacts with matter, it annihilates?
What uses could antimatter hold for us in the future?

16. Works Cited
"Antimatter and Dark Matter." Antimatter and Dark Matter. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Mar "Antimatter." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 28 Feb Web. 04 Mar Geneva, Johann Grolle in, Switzerland, and SPIEGEL. "Antimatter: Next Holy Grail for Physics." ABC News. ABC News Network, 15 July Web. 04 Mar "Introduction and Pair Production and Annihilation." A-level Physics Matter and Antimatter Revision -. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Mar "Physicists Chip Away at Mystery of Antimatter Imbalance." ScienceDaily. National Institute of Standards and Technology, 10 Nov Web. 04 Mar