Measure antimatter

Physicists have carried out detailed spectroscopic measurements of antimatter. The team, part of the ALPHA collaboration at CERN, in Geneva, had previously managed to trap antihydrogen atoms - the antimatter counterpart of hydrogen - routinely for long periods of time. The new findings build on this research to help further understanding of the origins of the Universe. Particles that are known to exist in the Universe have their mirror image in antimatter, but with the opposite electrical charge. It is thought that when the Universe formed, matter and antimatter existed in equal measure, until they collided and annihilated, with the residual matter making up the planets of the solar system. Although antimatter is known to exist - in the stars for example - scientists have questioned for many years why it is only matter that can be seen in our physical world today, and why Nature has expressed a preference for antimatter over matter. If antihydrogen atoms can be studied in detail, as ALPHA's latest result suggests, they may provide a powerful tool for investigating this preference.