The rules of the quantum world recreate realities that may seem like science fiction on a human scale. Scientists have found the first particle that is, in turn, matter and antimatter , a prediction that had been made throughout the 20th century, and which has now been made tangible through a sophisticated experiment carried out by researchers at the University of Standford.
The existence of antimatter has been part of scientific culture since the 1930s, when the positron , the particle opposite to the electron, was discovered. In theory, the encounter between a particle of matter and its same version of antimatter would produce the destruction of both, in a burst of enormous energy . For this reason, the prediction that the scientist Ettore Majorana made shortly after, in 1937, would be revolutionary: the existence of fermions, a class of particles, which must, in turn, be their own antiparticle ; that is to say, matter and antimatter at the same time.
Still, Majorana was right. 80 years later, the team of scientists, led by theoretical physicist Shoucheng Zhang, has finally found evidence of the existence of the first Majorana fermion.
“Our team predicted exactly where to find the Majorana fermion and what to look for as its experimental signature,” Zhang said. A discovery that ends with one of the most intensive searches in fundamental physics, lasting almost a century.
To prove its existence, a sophisticated and complex experiment has been carried out, extremely difficult to conceive, configure and carry out. Still, the signal produced by the Majorana fermions “was clear and unequivocal,” the researchers said.
What is antimatter?
Antimatter and matter are symmetrical, identical in mass, but with opposite charges . According to this, each particle in the universe has its own antiparticle. Of course, “with an interesting property: matter, in contact with antimatter, would disappear in a burst of energy” , as Javier Santaolalla, a doctor in particle physics and scientific popularizer, tells. “The existence of antimatter has been proven by science, and it has been observed and measured in cosmic rays, in controlled laboratory settings, and in radioactive materials.”
Therefore, with an antiproton and an antielectron, it would be possible to form all the atoms and molecules that we wanted: antihydrogen, anti-water … In fact, science predicts that, if we met our double antimatter, exactly the same as ourselves, both would disappear in an unimaginable burst of energy. Information that makes it possible to propose the option of using antimatter as an energy source.
The possibilities of the ‘angel particle’
In the future, Zhang claims that Majorana fermions could be used to build quantum computers whose information is not removed by ambient noise. A single qubit of information could be stored in two widely separated Majorana fermions, decreasing the possibility that something could disturb them at the same time and cause them to lose the information they carry.
For the moment, the scientist has already suggested a name: the ‘angel particle’, in reference to the best-selling Angels and Demons in which a secret fraternity plots to blow up the Vatican with a time bomb whose explosive power comes from antimilation. matter-antimatter.
