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antiparticle
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electrons and positrons in a bubble chamber Computer-generated diagram showing particle tracks from a proton-antiproton collision at the center of the UA1 detector at CERN, with labeled paths for electron and positron.
Properties of Antimatter
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Italian-born physicist Dr. Enrico Fermi draws a diagram at a blackboard with mathematical equations. circa 1950.
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antiparticle

physics
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antiparticle, subatomic particle having the same mass as one of the particles of ordinary matter but opposite electric charge and magnetic moment. Thus, the positron (positively charged electron) is the antiparticle of the negatively charged electron. The spinning antineutron, like the ordinary neutron, has a net electric charge of zero, but its magnetic polarity is opposite to that of a similarly spinning neutron. The neutrino, an uncharged particle that travels very close to the speed of light, spins counterclockwise as viewed from behind, whereas the antineutrino spins clockwise as viewed from behind. A particle and its antiparticle mutually react to produce energy by annihilation.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia BritannicaThis article was most recently revised and updated by Erik Gregersen.