When I was a kid, few words conjured up the fantastical better than antimatter. The idea seemed fanciful: for every type of matter, there was an evil twin with the opposite electrical charge, and if the two came into contact, there would be terrible destructive consequences.
This concept was prevalent in comic books, science fiction novels and TV shows, and even mainstream movies during my youth. Antimatter was presented as unbelievably exotic, and unimaginably dangerous. Typically, some evil supervillain would get their hands on some antimatter, and the threat of incredible destruction forced the superhero to intervene.
Imagine my joy when, as a slightly less young kid, I discovered that antimatter was very real.
Let me try my best to explain what it really is. The description I gave above actually isn’t too far off from the reality. It’s accurate to say that every charged particle has an antimatter particle with the opposite charge, and it’s also true that contact with a particle of…
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