For the first time, Northwestern University physicists have coaxed a single positron — the antimatter counterpart of an electron — into an exquisitely controlled quantum state.
An electron meeting a positron will apparently release 1.022 MeV of energy. I’m no physicist but my understanding is that this isn’t huge (it converts to 1.637×10⁻¹³ Joules). For comparison, fission of a uranium-235 nucleus releases about 200 MeV.
An electron meeting a positron will apparently release 1.022 MeV of energy. I’m no physicist but my understanding is that this isn’t huge (it converts to 1.637×10⁻¹³ Joules). For comparison, fission of a uranium-235 nucleus releases about 200 MeV.
ELI5
A zap like a fly in an electrical flytrap or more like a small firecracker?