Antigravity gets first test at Cern's Alpha experiment

[n2doc]

By Jason Palmer
Science and technology reporter, BBC News


Researchers at Cern in Switzerland have tested a novel way to find out if antimatter is the source of a force termed "antigravity".

Antimatter particles are the "mirror image" of normal matter, but with opposite electric charge.

How antimatter responds to gravity remains a mystery, however; it may "fall up" rather than down.

Now researchers reporting in Nature Communications have made strides toward finally resolving that notion.


more
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-22355187

[longship]

1. As long as they have enough of the stuff for "Angels and Demons"

Couldn't resist the Dan Brown reference.

[Victor_c3]

2. Crazy stuff

I'm glad someone is smart enough to try to figure this sort of thing out. Once you understand how something works, then you can manipulate it to your desire.

I don't know where research like this will take us, but I don't doubt that it is, in some manner, important.

[phantom power]

3. the fact that we don't know...

is an interesting reflection on the gaping holes in our understanding of how gravity interacts with the rest of physics.

[dimbear]

4. BTW this certainly isn't the first attempt to show antiparticles fall up.

Been tried years ago, but the transient nature of antiparticles makes it hard to observe.