Creating Antimatter: Matter's "Evil Twin"

Short Wave

NPR

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🗓️ 9 March 2020

⏱️ 13 minutes

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Summary

Physicists have done the math and there should be as much antimatter as matter — but that hasn't been the case so far. NPR Correspondent Geoff Brumfiel explains what's up with matter's "evil twin," antimatter.

Transcript

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0:00.0	You're listening to Shortwave from NPR.
0:04.6	Hey everybody, Emily Kwong here, sometimes host of our fine podcast, and today I've got
0:10.4	Science correspondent Jeff Brumfield in to discuss anti-matter.
0:14.2	Yes, anti-matter.
0:16.2	Anti-matter.
0:17.2	I'm so excited to talk to you about anti-matter and Emily I know exactly what you're thinking.
0:22.8	The anti-matter pods are ready to blow up the moment we go into what drive?
0:29.2	Anti-matter is a huge part of Star Trek.
0:32.8	Alright, I know the Vulcan salute live long and prosper.
0:36.2	That's about the extent of my knowledge of Star Trek, but I get your point.
0:39.8	Anti-matter does kind of sound like science fiction.
0:42.0	But it's real, that's the cool thing.
0:44.0	Yes, anti-matter particles are the strange mirror particles to the stuff we see all around us.
0:49.4	And scientists have made it using a giant particle accelerator in Europe.
0:53.6	They're studying it because they hope it can answer some fundamental questions about the universe.
0:59.0	Okay, not entirely sure I get it, but by the end of the episode I assume we all will.
1:04.4	So today on the show.
1:05.6	Anti-matter.
1:06.6	What it is, how it works and why one scientist has spent decades trying to trap it.
1:16.2	Jeff, I have a lot of questions about anti-matter, but can you just start with regular matter?
1:21.8	What is that?
1:22.6	Yeah, so a refresher.
	...

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