I heard that the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is doing research into antimatter. Does CAMS have anything to do with this?
CAMS is not involved in the research going on at the Large Hadron Collider. That research falls under the field of “particle physics” and is quite different from our own research focus. They do interesting things there too, and get to play with some pretty amazing toys! I know that single electrons have been trapped for study many years ago. Have there been any experiments using trapped positrons, which would then be released from the trap, and allowed to free-fall ? Everyone expects them to behave identically as electrons do, but I hear the jury is still out. Excellent question Jim. Using charged particles to study the effects of gravity is virtually impossible. This is because the force of gravity is so much weaker than the electromagmetic force. Any small stray electric or magnetic fields (and they’re extremely difficult to get rid of) mean that the results of trying to drop a positron or electron would be fatally contaminated. However, using neutral antimatter, you don’t have to wo
