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What Is Antimatter?

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Why We Exist: Matter Wins Battle Over Antimatter
The Fermilab accelerator complex accelerates protons and antiprotons close to the speed of light. (Image credit: Fermilab)

Antimatter sounds like the stuff of science fiction, but it’s very real. It is, however, elusive.

Antimatter particles are subatomic particles with properties opposite those of normal matter particles. So a positron (positively charged) is the antiparticle equivalent of the electron (negatively charged). When a particle and its antiparticle meet, they annihilate (are destroyed), releasing a lot of energy.

Antimatter particles are created in ultra high-speed collisions. There was a lot of it after the Big Bang. But today antimatter is rare.

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Space.com Staff
Space.com Staff
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Space.com is the premier source of space exploration, innovation and astronomy news, chronicling (and celebrating) humanity's ongoing expansion across the final frontier. Originally founded in 1999, Space.com is, and always has been, the passion of writers and editors who are space fans and also trained journalists. Our current news team consists of Editor-in-Chief Tariq Malik; Editor Hanneke Weitering, Senior Space Writer Mike Wall; Senior Writer Meghan Bartels; Senior Writer Chelsea Gohd, Senior Writer Tereza Pultarova and Staff Writer Alexander Cox, focusing on e-commerce. Senior Producer Steve Spaleta oversees our space videos, with Diana Whitcroft as our Social Media Editor.