Maybe I'm just dumb

[holly_evolving]

But probably not.

So: if matter and antimatter meet, there will be an explosive, possibly universe-ending reaction. So if antimatter exists, there has to be something separating it from matter.

So what is the border between the two made of, and what can I make out of it?

Comments

[fatherdog.livejournal.com]

"So: if matter and antimatter meet, there will be an explosive, possibly universe-ending reaction."

Explosive, but not possibly universe-ending. Antiparticles (the building blocks of antimatter) collide with the upper atmosphere regularly, producing tiny explosions. They're not really noticed because the quantities involved are so tiny (and thus so are the explosions).

"So if antimatter exists, there has to be something separating it from matter."

Naturally occurring antimatter that actually sticks around is typically found in deep space, where it's separated from matter by space - it doesn't contact normal matter because there's a lot of emptiness in between.

[professorbird.livejournal.com]

String.

/nods and ambles off....

[thegreyeminence.livejournal.com]

Ending the universe would take a lot of antimatter (say a billion galaxies' worth if you distributed it just right), and probably then only in the mundane sense of blowing all the galaxies and solar systems apart. They'll reform in ten billion years, probably.

Big place, the universe.

Which is what keeps matter and anti-matter from annihilating each other: truly vast expanses of nothing. “Look, a helium atom! That's one for my diary!”

Finally, matter and antimatter particles do collide constantly, but on the scale of positrons and electrons, not asteroids or even golf balls.

[holly-evolving.livejournal.com]

Oh, right, vacuum. I haven't exercised my physics muscles in way too long.