the.com/positron
An electron's evil twin: same mass, opposite charge, zero chill when they meet.
means The antimatter counterpart of the electron — identical mass, positive charge instead of negative, and mutual annihilation guaranteed on contact.
from Coined in the early 1930s as a blend of 'positive' and 'electron,' after the particle was predicted by theoretical physics and then spotted in cosmic-ray tracks curving the 'wrong' way through a cloud chamber. The name is pure chemistry-set logic: same suffix as its sibling, opposite sign up front.
- discovered
- 1932, proving antimatter wasn't just theory
- predicted by
- dirac's equation, before anyone found one
- fate
- annihilates on contact with any electron
- medical use
- powers pet scans via annihilation gamma rays