Department of Energy Argonne National Laboratory Office of Science NEWTON's Homepage NEWTON's Homepage
NEWTON, Ask A Scientist!
NEWTON Home Page NEWTON Teachers Visit Our Archives Ask A Question How To Ask A Question Question of the Week Our Expert Scientists Volunteer at NEWTON! Frequently Asked Questions Referencing NEWTON About NEWTON About Ask A Scientist Education At Argonne Origin of Matter 
Name: N/A
Status: N/A
Age: N/A
Location: N/A
Country: N/A
Date: 1991
Question:
If matter cannot be created or destroyed, where did the first(present)matter come from?


Replies:
Though, it is still a big question, if the "Big Bang" was reasonably symmetric the universe should have started out as pure energy, or as equal parts antimatter and matter (matter can be destroyed and turned into pure energy by combining it with antimatter, and energy in some other form can be converted into equal parts of matter and antimatter). The big question is, why do we normally only see matter around us, and not equal parts of both matter and antimatter? (Of course it would be pretty hazardous living around stuff that could annihilate you!). There are a bunch of theories, but as far as I know, nobody really knows yet.

Arthur Smith


Click here to return to the Physics Archives

NEWTON is an electronic community for Science, Math, and Computer Science K-12 Educators, sponsored and operated by Argonne National Laboratory's Educational Programs, Andrew Skipor, Ph.D., Head of Educational Programs.

For assistance with NEWTON contact a System Operator (help@newton.dep.anl.gov), or at Argonne's Educational Programs

NEWTON AND ASK A SCIENTIST
Educational Programs
Building 360
9700 S. Cass Ave.
Argonne, Illinois
60439-4845, USA
Update: June 2012
Weclome To Newton

Argonne National Laboratory