Positron molecule: after a ghost
2006/01/01 Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria
Some physicists at the University of California believe they have obtained positron molecules. If the result is demonstrated, these would be the first antimating molecules.
Positronium is a very light atom: it has a structure similar to hydrogen (formed by a proton and an electron), but instead of the proton it has positron, that is, it has a positive charge of the proton, but a much lighter mass, the same one that has the electron. Thus, positron is the antimating pair corresponding to the electron.
In fact, positronium (not present in nature) is unstable, so it is very difficult to form a molecule with two positronies. However, these researchers believe that in one experiment they have measured more energy than the simple positronium atoms by eliminating each other. They do not know for sure the cause of this result, but one of the options is obtaining positron molecules.
