Since its existence was first predicted by physicist Paul Dirac in 1931, antimatter has become an increasingly common sight. The antiparticle of the electron, for example, is routinely used in positron emission tomography, a clinical imaging technique. Yet despite this routine use of isolated antimatter particles, making ‘anti-atoms’ is extremely difficult because matter and antimatter annihilate each other in a flash of energetic photons when they meet.
The simplest and most abundant atom in the universe—hydrogen—consists of a positive proton and an electron. Its opposite number, antihydrogen, contains a negative antiproton and a positron, and teaming the antiparticles without allowing them to touch any ordinary matter is a ticklish business.
In parallel research efforts, known as ALPHA and ASACUSA, the international teams of physicists have shown how to handle antihydrogen atoms in a way that will soon allow their properties to be investigated precisely, and compared with normal hydrogen.
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