[thechat] Antihydrogen produced in large quantity

[Judah McAuley]

Madhu Menon wrote:

> By making this anti-atom in quantity and slowing its frenetic motions to a
> virtual stop, they hope to study it at leisure for the first time, seeking
> answers to fundamental questions that touch on some of most basic tenets of
> physics:

My favorite bit from the scientists website
(http://athena.web.cern.ch/athena/):

"How does the AD work ?

Antiparticles have to be created from energy (remember: E = mc2). This
energy is obtained with protons that have been previously accelerated in
the PS. These protons are smashed into a block of metal, called a
target. We use Copper or Iridium targets mainly because they are easy to
cool (but a piece of English beef would serve the same purpose - it
would just roast very quickly and is rather messy). "

Those particle physicists are funny guys.

Judah