Antiproton

The antiproton is the antimatter analog of the proton. Antiprotons are short-lived in nature, since any collision with a proton will cause both particles to be annihilated in a burst of energy. It was discovered by Emilio Segre and Owen Chamberlain, for which they were awarded in 1959 Nobel Prize in Physics.

Their formation requires energy equivalent to a temperature of ten million degrees centigrade, and big bangs aside, this does not tend to happen naturally. But it happens at CERN. Protons are accelerated in the Proton Synchrotron (PS) to an energy of 26 GeV, and then smashed into an iridium rod. The protons bounce off the iridium nuclei with enough energy for matter to be created. A range of particles and antiparticles are formed, and the antiprotons are separated off using magnets.