Shining a Light on Antimatter Research

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YouTube @AstroTim

Antimatter, once the stuff of science fiction, continues to fascinate both researchers and the public. Recent interviews featuring AVA Coordinator and QUASAR Group leader Professor Carsten P Welsch shed light on the latest developments in this field.

The first interview was done by well-known YouTuber “Astro” Tim Ruster, and has drawn already over 200,000 views, Professor Welsch talks about his group’s latest experiments at CERN, where the Liverpool researchers study why the universe appears to contain far more matter than antimatter with their colleagues in the AEgIS experiment. The discussion covers challenges involved in producing and storing anti-hydrogen for experiments, how researchers measure the impact of gravity on antimatter and whether there may be any subtle differences from the behaviour of normal matter, and the innovations that allow antimatter to be contained and studied for longer periods. In their 45 minute-long conversation, Astro Tim and Professor Welsch talk about these concepts in an approachable manner, covering a range of breakthrough experiments that were done over the past few decades.

Shortly after the YouTube video, Professor Welsch appeared on the Jay Thakkar Show podcast to explore antimatter research in greater depth. This included an overview of antimatter’s properties and its role in modern physics, potential uses in medical treatment and future energy solutions, and current hurdles in antimatter experiments and anticipated developments.

Professor Welsch is a leading science communicator who frequently appears on online platforms and public events, explaining challenging topics such as antimatter in understandable terms. More details about his group’s wider outreach activities can be found here.

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