/sci/ - Science & Math

[Anonymous No.2745529]

So I could finally be bothered to read Stephen Hawking's "A Brief History of Time". Amidst my mind being thoroughly blown, I've come across the concept of "antiparticles", and am confused. Can someone please explain this idea in a very simplistic way?

[Anonymous No.2745558]

http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antiparticle

>Corresponding to most kinds of particle, there is an associated antiparticle with the same mass and opposite charges.
>Even electrically neutral particles, such as the neutron, are not identical to their antiparticle. In the example of the neutron, the 'ordinary' particle is made out of quarks and the antiparticle out of antiquarks.
>Particle-antiparticle pairs can annihilate each other if they are in appropriate quantum states. They can also be produced in various processes. These processes are used in today's particle accelerators to create new particles and to test theories of particle physics. High energy processes in nature can create antiparticles. These are visible in cosmic rays and in certain nuclear reactions. The word antimatter properly refers to (elementary) antiparticles, composite antiparticles made with them (such as antihydrogen) and to larger assemblies of either.