We got anti-matter!

[Pharaoh Atem]

http://www.aolnews.com/science/artic..._lnk1%7C185006

It powered the Starship Enterprise's warp drive and almost blew up the Vatican in Dan Brown's novel "Angel & Demons." But antimatter is no longer confined to the realm of far-fetched fiction. Scientists have now discovered how to capture and contain matter's elusive and exotic counterpart.

In a study published in the journal Nature, researchers at the European Organization for Nuclear Research in Switzerland detail how they caught 38 atoms of anti-hydrogen -- the simplest type of antimatter -- and stored them for about two-tenths of a second. Sci-fi geeks or mad papal aides shouldn't celebrate yet, however.

rest at the link

[Sapphire_Jade]

very cool!!

[jelgate]

I think it will be awhile before we hear more of this. Sounds like its highly unstable

[DigiFluid]

Isn't antimatter unstable pretty much by definition?

[jelgate]

Isn't antimatter unstable pretty much by definition?

Not that I know of but physics is not really my area of expertise.

[DigiFluid]

Mine either, to be honest. I've just always been under the impression that matter and anti-matter annihilate one-another when they come in contact; I take that to mean 'unstable'.

[nx01a]

Looks like we've got our equivalent of the Omega Particle.

[DigiFluid]

Next thing you know, those lunatics at CERN will use this in one of their Big Bang experiments and destroy us all

[nx01a]

Or maybe the antimatter we produce will be what saves us from one of those runaway singularities or strange matter stringlets or whatever that CERN's gonna pump out one of these fine days.

[DigiFluid]

Yeah but it's more fun to spout that the end of the world is coming

[nx01a]

It can be, yes.

[thekillman]

antimatter is stable. it's just that it annihilates when it comes in contact with matter

[Cold Fuzz]

If antimatter acts in accordance with the 4 fundamental interactive forces of nature, then one molecule particle of antihydrogen would be as stable as normal hydrogen. The charge and spin of the component particles would be reversed though. Containing the stuff, especially with a magnetic bottle, is tenuous at best since we haven't mastered how to keep that kind of magnetic field coherent enough to prevent antimatter from annihilating with normal matter.

[webxro]

but it thought that we had anti-matter for quite some time now but in small quantities like this for a long time

[nx01a]

I guess we had even smaller quantities of antimatter for even shorter amounts of time.