Matter is energy, energy is matter, e = MC 2. In particle physics, antimatter is an extension of the concept of antiparticles, and antimatter is composed of antiparticles, just as ordinary matter is composed of ordinary particles. For example, an antiproton and an antiproton (positron) can form an antihydrogen atom, just as electrons and protons form a hydrogen atom of a general substance. In addition, the combination of matter and antimatter, just like the combination of particles and antiparticles, will lead to the annihilation of both, thus releasing high-energy photons (gamma rays) or other negative and positive particle pairs with lower energy. The kinetic energy of particles produced by the annihilation of positive and negative matter is equal to that of the original pair of positive and negative matter, plus the difference between the static mass of the original matter and the static mass of the generated particles, which usually accounts for the majority.

Antimatter can't be found in nature unless it exists in a fleeting amount (such as due to radioactive decay or cosmic rays). This is because if antimatter does not exist in an artificial environment such as a physical laboratory, it will inevitably come into contact with natural substances and be annihilated. A very small amount of antiparticles and some stable antimatter (such as antihydrogen) can be manufactured artificially, but it is not enough to verify its theory.

192765438+February, the British physicist paul dirac put forward the relativistic equation of electrons, namely Dirac equation [1]. Interestingly, negative energy results other than general positive energy are found in the equation. This shows a problem when electrons tend to jump to the lowest possible energy level; Negative infinite energy is meaningless. But in order to make up for this condition, Dirac proposed that the vacuum state is a "sea" full of negative energy electrons, which is called Dirac Sea. Therefore, any real electrons will fill the positive poles of these oceans.

Expanding on this idea, Dirac found that these "holes" in the sea were positively charged. At first he thought it was a proton, but Herman Weller pointed out that these holes should have the same mass as electrons. 1932, American physicist carl anderson confirmed the existence of positrons in experiments. During this period, antimatter is sometimes called "antimatter". Although Dirac himself did not use the term antimatter, later scientists called antiprotons and other particles antimatter. The complete antimatter periodic table was completed by Charles Janet in 1929.