Why do we exist? Matter and antimatter should annihilate one another, leading to an empty Universe!
This, one of the fundamental questions of the Universe will be discussed at a free public lecture at the University of Bath, UK, next week (26 October). Dr Glenn Patrick will explain the challenge faced by physicists to try to understand why matter triumphed over antimatter in the Big Bang.
"Far from being the stuff of science fiction, antimatter is routinely created using accelerators. Experiments studying millions of antiparticles reveal tiny, but crucial, differences with normal matter; which can provide an insight into the symmetries of nature and may explain the absence of antimatter in the universe" - Dr Glenn Patrick.
His lecture traces the story of antimatter from a speculative idea in the 19th century to the very latest results in particle physics, at a level that everyone can enjoy and assuming no previous knowledge. Dr Patrick is a physicist at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory and has worked in particle physics research for 30 years. He has led a number of science communication projects to make advanced physics accessible to schoolchildren and the general public.
Admission is free, just turn up on the evening. Free parking available in the West Car Park. All lectures run from 5.15pm until 6.15pm in the lecture hall 8 West 1.1 on the Claverton campus.