MATTER, ANTIMATTER & LHC

MATTER, ANTIMATTER AND LHC

Every type of particle has a corresponding antiparticle, for example;

• the positron is the antiparticle of the electron
• the antiproton is the antiparticle of the proton
• the antineutron is the antiparticle of the neutron
• the antineutrino is the antiparticle of the neutrino

The positron for example has the same mass as an electron but it has a positive (+) charge whereas and electron has a negative (-) charge.

pair production and annihilation

When a particle and its antiparticle meet each other they annihilate each other. Their mass is converted into energy in the form of photons.

This is an example of mass being converted into energy but it can also work the other way around with energy being converted into mass.

High energy photons can produce  a particle and its antiparticle, this is called pair production.

Large Hadron collider is used to collide matter and antimatter.

The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is the world's largest and most powerful particle collider, the largest, most complex experimental facility ever built, and the largest single machine in the world.

The LHC's aim is to allow physicists to test the predictions of different theories of particle physics, high-energy physics and in particular, to further test the properties of the Higgs boson and the large family of new particles predicted by supersymmetric theories, and other unsolved questions of physics, advancing human understanding of physical laws. It contains seven detectors, each designed for certain kinds of research. The proton-proton collision is the primary operation method, but the LHC has also collided protons with lead nuclei for two months in 2013 and used lead–lead collisions for about one month each in 2010, 2011, 2013 and 2015 for other investigations.

HOW LHC WORKS