TO ASK What the devil is ANTI-MATTER? Its all over the radio just now.

[GabbyLoggon]

I take an interest in science; but dont have great knowledge. People are coming on BBC Radio 4 to explain ANTI MATTER and I am none the wiser.

I gather it is connected to the BIG BANG theory of creation.

[TimeWasting]

It's the mirror image of matter. Which is what I learned when I listened to what they said about it on the radio.

Tbh, I think this subject is a good example of where looking something up on wikipedia for instance might be more useful.

[GabbyLoggon]

I dont knopw whether I trust the scientists on anti matter...Is it more than intelligent guesswork.?

Time wasting you clearly trust scientists more than me. I want to seperate the real research from the pretence

[Nuttychic]

Anti-matter is the exact opposite of matter. If a particle of matter comes into contact with a particle of anti-matter, they are both destroyed and turned into energy.

Everything is opposite with anti-matter so protons are negatively charged, electrons are positively charged.

Its not really guess work as anti-matter is regularly created in particle colliders (atom smashers) but their life span is measured in pico seconds as they come into contact with matter pretty quickly.

HTH

[SardineQueen]

It's what causes terrible trouble for Scotty on the starship enterprise when it looks like it's going to leak out.

HTH

[Nuttychic]

LOL Sardine :o

[SardineQueen]

"Time wasting you clearly trust scientists more than me. I want to seperate the real research from the pretence"

Off you go to university then to study physics for the next decade or so!

[AtYourCervix]

isn'tit something to dowith the pope.

i think thats what dan brown was saying anyway,.

[GabbyLoggon]

Some good explanations. thanks. The problem is I know a bit about male human nature. Call them "experts" and they feel it is weakness to say
"I dont clucking know." there in lies a problem with experts.

I had a brothery who was science based. The ecoli jive was all over medicine.
My brother said " I dont know if the doctors are making sense on e-coli"

Stop making heroes out of so-called experts. I am an expert at some things.

[SardineQueen]

What does male human nature have to do with anti-matter?

[xStarGirl]

So you really started this thread to bash scientists? How lovely.

You've had anti-matter explained to you, and you've even had it explained how they examine and study it. But clearly you won't be budged from your opinion that it's all made up of whole cloth, which begs the question - why did you ask in the first place?

Oh right, because you want to rile people up. Lovely.

[Nuttychic]

I think the assumption that its all "male" is a tad rude tbh. In many areas science says its theory (in other words - we not sure). In fact there are probably more unproven theories floating around, than proven. Scientists are the first people to say that they dont have a clear understanding of everything. That is the point of scientists. They research, theorise and attempt to prove or disprove what they are studying. I have never heard one saying they have complete understanding in their particular field.

Anti-matter is not really a "I dont know" subject. Its well researched and has been for a number of decades.

The E-coli problem is also very well understood. Its a very common bacteria and the only confusion regarding the recent outbreak was trying to pin point the exact source. Not any misunderstanding about the actual organism.

[SardineQueen]

Agree nuttychic.

I assume the comment was based on the idea that physicists are male. But was waiting for clarification...

before going bananas

[SardineQueen]

Scientists are the first people to say when they aren't sure about something. The whole point of science is that you don't really know what's going on and to try and work it out.

I suspect the OPs only experience of scientists has been watching beaker on sesame street.

[Ormirian]

A good wipe with a damp cloth and some bleach should fix that gabby.

[Ormirian]

"Stop making heroes out of so-called experts"

Oh grow up!

Science and it's development is fascinating. And no they don't have all the answers. And they will tell you so if you ask them but what would be the point of a program saying 'Anti-matter! Nope. Seach me.....no idea. Sorry'.

FFS they often are finding answers to questions we didn't even know how to ask a few years back.

[SardineQueen]

[SardineQueen]

[Hullygully]

the reason it's all over the meedja is that they managed to create it and keep it for 90 sec, the longest yet, at CERN.

[Nuttychic]

I sure hope its just misunderstand on the OP's part Sardine! Science, of which physics is a branch, is most certainly not all male and I hope the OP is aware of that or I will go bananas with you will assume this thread is just a windup for us in the field.

[Hullygully]

And that they know it (must be) there, but can't find it and can only create it

[Nuttychic]

*a misunderstanding! Thats what happens when you watch a vid of scientists at work, while typing :o

[GrimmaTheNome]

I haven't heard anything about antimatter today, but its certainly the existence of antimatter is not 'guesswork' or mere theory.

Presumably you've heard of Positron Emission Tomography - PET scans. Available on the NHS. Well, a positron is the antimatter counterpart of an electron. Nothing mysterious about it.

[SardineQueen]

nutty I think you will find that lady-brains aren't able to do thinking about clever male stuff like gluons, baryons, mesons, leptons and the like. They also find it tricky to hold concepts like reciprocal space in their pretty little heads and always come a cropper when integrating across multiple planes.

Bless em.

[SardineQueen]

[PfftTheMagicDragon]

What are these things at which you are an expert?