AntiMatter Book Review

Antimatter. Just what is it? Well, for some it is simply another word that they may have heard in Star Trek and therefore not even think that it really exists.

But antimatter is very much science fact, and it is thought that in the early universe there was lots of the stuff which was created in a near 1:1 ratio with normal matter.

What *is* antimatter? The book tells us that an antimatter particle is the mirror image, as it were, of its matter counterpart. The most well known antimatter particle is the anti-electron, which is called a positron. It is alike the electron in every way except that it carries the opposite charge: positive as opposed to negative.

The book takes us through the history of antimatter, the discovery of antimatter, information about the annihilation of antimatter and how this results in the most pure energy release known.

Storing antimatter is an interesting challenge given it annihilates when it contacts ordinary matter, and the chapter on this talks about magnetic containment fields and more.

There are lots of myths and half-truths about antimatter, which the book also discusses. It's also interesting to know that antimatter is routinely used in the world around us: for instance in medicine a PET scan actually stands for Positron Emission Tomography.

Overall a very interesting book and if you want to know a little bit about antimatter, a recommended read.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Reviewer: dan moore