Science & Technology

Is antimatter the key to anti-gravity ?

By T.K. Randall
May 1, 2013 ·  30 comments

Image Credit: CC 2.0 xlibber The radical concept could lead to the discovery of true anti-gravity, a technology that has been a staple of science fiction for years. Researchers will be attempting to determine whether or not antimatter, which is effectively the mirror image of conventional matter, is repelled by gravity and falls upwards instead of down. The way in which antimatter responds to gravity has to date remained a mystery.

"In the course of all the experiments, we release (the antihydrogen atoms) and look for their annihilation," said spokesperson Jeffrey Hangst. "We've gone through those data to see if we can see any influence of gravity on the positions at which they annihilate - looking for atoms to fall for the short amount of time they exist before they hit the wall."[!gad]The radical concept could lead to the discovery of true anti-gravity, a technology that has been a staple of science fiction for years. Researchers will be attempting to determine whether or not antimatter, which is effectively the mirror image of conventional matter, is repelled by gravity and falls upwards instead of down. The way in which antimatter responds to gravity has to date remained a mystery.

"In the course of all the experiments, we release (the antihydrogen atoms) and look for their annihilation," said spokesperson Jeffrey Hangst. "We've gone through those data to see if we can see any influence of gravity on the positions at which they annihilate - looking for atoms to fall for the short amount of time they exist before they hit the wall."

Source: BBC News | Comments (30)

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