Positron
The positron is the antiparticle or the antimatter counterpart of the electron.
Basically in an atom you have the proton, neutron and electron. But in
an even smaller context (subatomically) you have the
counterpart to the
electron, which is the positron, it has the same mass as an electron and a weak
positive charge. So essentially
the positron is a subatomic atom so to speak.
The positron was the first evidence of antimatter and was discovered by
passing cosmic rays through a gas chamber and a lead plate
surrounded by a
magnet to distinguish the particles by bending differently charged particles in
different directions.
Today, positrons are routinely produced in
positron emission tomography (PET) which are scanners used in hospitals.
And for those of you who are sci-fi fans, in the Star Trek series/movies
the android Data, his "brother" Lore, and his "daughter" Lal (androids) have
positronic brains.
I do have to say between Star Wars and Star Trek, i'm more of
a Trek fan, although
i did enjoy watching the Star Wars Movies
And also in the movie
Ghostbusters, which i saw multiple times, Peter Venkman calls his proton
pack (the ghost trapping device) a "positron collider".
So positrons are
both real and found in fiction
back to general science
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