New antimatter trap resembles multi-room hotel

Scientists are creating the largest antidote trap ever to "trap" trillions of positrons.

Producing antimatter with machines such as the giant particle accelerator LHC, which is not so simple, keeps it even more complex as antimatter and matter instantly destroy each other when exposed. Therefore, any material made of matter is destroyed when we put the antimatter inside. The solution is to use electricity and magnetic fields, instead of matter, to build the walls of an antimatter jar.

" We want to accumulate trillions of positrons in a multi-compartment trap - a system inside a hotel-like magnetic jar with rooms, each containing tens of billions of antimatter. " - Physicist Said Clifford Surko of the University of California, San Diego.

The research was presented at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (SFO) at the weekend.

Researchers are also developing counter-cooled cooling at superheated temperatures so that these molecules slow down and can be studied.

The next goal is to compress the antiparticle clouds into a dense mass that can be put into practical applications.

Another project that scientists pursue is the creation of a compact antiparticle bottle that can be taken out of the laboratory and used in medical and industrial applications.

Although it may sound strange, antimatter has been used in modern technology, such as the Positron Emission Tomography (Positron Emission Tomography).

During PET scans, the patient receives an injection of radioactive material that causes the positron to decay. Positrons are exposed to electrons in the body and cancel out, creating two gamma rays. These gamma rays will be detected by the scanner, providing 3D images of what is happening in the body.