Anti-Matter Universe Sought By Space-Based Detector

Anti-Matter Universe Sought By Space-Based Detector

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A seven metric ton particle detector parked for over a year on the International Space Station (ISS) aims to establish whether there is an unseen “dark universe” woven into the cosmos, the scientist leading the project said. And the detector, the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer or AMS, has already broken all records in registering some 17 billion cosmic rays and storing data on them for analysis, Nobel physics laureate Samuel Ting told a news conference.

“The question is: where is the universe made from anti-matter?” said Ting. “It could be out there somewhere far away producing particles that we could detect with the AMS.” Physicists say that the event 13.7 billion years ago that brought the known universe into existence and has been dubbed the “Big Bang” must have created equal amounts of matter and anti-matter. But then anti-matter largely disappeared.