CERN’s ALPHA experiment measures charge of anti-hydrogen

The Silicon Vertex Detector, a crucial component of the ALPHA experiment at CERN, was designed and built within the University In a paper published , scientists report that for first time they have taken a precise measurement of the electric charge of anti-hydrogen atoms, helping understanding of the matter-antimatter asymmetry, one of the greatest challenges in physics. The finding was made by the ALPHA experiment at CERN , where a crucial component, the Silicon Vertex Detector, was designed and built within the University of Liverpool's Department of Physics. How antimatter plasmas evolve The detector can see inside the ALPHA atom trap where the anti-hydrogen is captured and provides information about how the antimatter plasmas evolve while the experiment is running. Most importantly, it provides timing and spatial information of single atom annihilations inside the experiment. Professor Paul Nolan , the Liverpool project leader said: "This is the first time neutral antimatter's electrical properties have been precisely measured. We are looking forward to August 2014 when the anti-proton decelerator physics programme resumes and we can continue to study the secrets of anti-hydrogen." "This is the first time neutral antimatter's electrical properties have been precisely measured. We are looking forward to August 2014 when the anti-proton decelerator physics programme resumes and we can continue to study the secrets of anti-hydrogen" - Antiparticles should be identical to matter particles except for the sign of their electric charge.