I understand antimatter is the opposite of matter and that it pops into existence and then disappears again as soon as it encounters matter (usually pretty instantly). But how did we even think to look for something that has such a fleeting existence? Was it the only logical way to explain the results of some experiment? Is there something about matter that doesn’t make sense unless antimatter exists?
In: Physics
It started with doing the math. A physicist named Paul Dirac figured out an equation that explained how electrons moved, and the equation worked to predict behavior. The equation also made it seem possible that there could be an oppositely charged particle to an electron (a positron), and any atoms built with positrons rather than electrons would be atoms of anti matter.
Years later, another physicist doing experiments related to cosmic rays observed a positron in the experiment, which was physical evidence that Dirac was right. That physicist was Carl Anderson.
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