Science Weekly Transporting the most expensive and volatile substance on Earth
Mar 26, 2026
Dr Christian Smorra, a CERN physicist who led the antimatter transport project, and Ian Sample, The Guardian science editor and reporter, discuss a world-first move of trapped antiprotons. They explain what antimatter is, why it must be moved for precision experiments, how a mobile Penning trap works, the careful transport operation and the surprising safety realities.
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Antimatter Is A Theoretical Prediction Confirmed By Experiment
- Antimatter has mirror particles for every particle, predicted by Dirac and confirmed experimentally.
- Ian Sample explains Dirac's 1928 math predicted antiparticles and the antielectron discovery four years later, establishing antimatter's reality.
The Big Bang Should Have Created Equal Antimatter
- The Big Bang should have produced matter and antimatter equally, so their disappearance is a major physics puzzle.
- Ian Sample frames the core question: why did matter dominate instead of annihilating into pure energy after the Big Bang?
CERN Produces Antiprotons By Smashing And Slowing Protons
- CERN makes antiprotons by smashing high-energy protons into a metal target and decelerating the secondary particles.
- Ian Sample details deceleration down to ~0.1c and trapping antiprotons so they can be studied rather than lost in the shower.