CERN Transported Antimatter in Düsseldorf 0 9

Scientists from the BASE collaboration have transported antiprotons across the CERN facility for the first time using a truck. This opens up the possibility of delivering antimatter to other laboratories around the world for ultra-precise research.

Physicists managed to transport a cloud of 92 antiprotons across the CERN research center. The main challenge of working with antimatter lies in its instant annihilation upon contact with ordinary matter. To prevent the particles from being destroyed, the team developed a portable BASE-STEP device weighing one ton. The antimatter transport device includes a superconducting magnet, a liquid helium cooling system, and a vacuum chamber that protects the antiprotons from vibrations and shocks during vehicle movement.

The need for transportation arises from the technical limitations of CERN's "antimatter factory." Magnetic interference from accelerators hinders measurements with extremely high precision. Transporting particles to specialized laboratories, including the University of Düsseldorf, will allow physicists to study the properties of antiprotons in detail. Scientists hope to find fundamental patterns in the emergence of matter and antimatter that explain the structure of our Universe.

Despite alarming reports from bloggers on social media, transporting such a quantity of antimatter poses no danger. The annihilation of 92 particles will cause an energy burst that cannot be detected without instruments. For example, to heat a cup of water, the energy from the annihilation of not dozens, but trillions of antiprotons is needed. The main danger of transporting antiprotons is to the particles themselves. This transport is akin to carrying a giant soap bubble: if it is shaken, it will simply burst and be lost, and no one except the physicists will notice.

Christian Smorra, the head of the BASE-STEP project, noted: "Last year we confirmed the feasibility of the project with protons, but what we have achieved today with antiprotons is a huge leap forward towards our goal." If such transportation is established, CERN will become a true supplier of antimatter for physical laboratories.