Particles and Antiparticles

Learning objectives: know their names

Describe annihilation
Calculate energies involved
Particle Symbol Charge Antipartic Symbol Charge Rest Rest
le Mass Energy
(kg) (MeV)
Proton P +1 Antiproton P (with a -1 1.67x10^- 958.257
line above) 27
Neutron n 0 Antineutro n 0 1.67x10^- 939.551
n 27
Electron e -1 Positron e +1 9.11x10^- 0.510999
31
Neutrino v o Antineutrin v 0 0 0
o

Annihilation and pair production:

When a particle meets its antiparticle they annihilate each other. All of the mass of the particle and
antiparticle then gets converted into energy.
Antiparticles only exist for a fraction of a second before this happens.
Minimum energy of the photon released= the rest energy of the particle and antiparticle =2E=moC^2

Particle diagram for pair production:

We can create particle and antiparticle from pure energy (ie the opposite of annilihation)