So antimatter is, technically, the opposite of matter, correct? I've heard that if we come into contact with matter, then we will...disappear, as we "cancel out." Is this true? Using math, how does the scientific community figure out that such things exist? I don't quite get it.
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Yes. Antimatter is the opposite of normal matter. It has same mass, but opposite electric charge. Electron has negative charge, while antielectron (also called positron) has positive charge. When matter and antimatter come into contact, they will annihilate each other. It becomes pure energy(photon). Annihilation between 1 kg of matter and 1 kg of antimatter is as much as the explosion of 43 million tons of tnt.
Use E=mc^2 for each particle.
Thanks for answering my question!