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Glite Dictionary
antiparticle

antiparticle

1 9.3
A particle with the same mass but opposite charge that destroys its partner and releases energy when they meet
  • noun
  • /ˈæntiˌpɑrtɪkəl/
  • Specialized
: antipartícula
  • I mean, the number of antiparticles and particles, it's conserved.
  • particle-antiparticle
  • antiparticle pair

It's known that spontaneously from the vacuum, from a pure vacuum of space, particle antiparticle pairs can appear and disappear.

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Examples

  • Following his equations to their logical conclusion, Dirac also predicted that, for each elementary particle, there exists a corresponding antiparticle.

    Academic text (2005)

  • The universe around us exudes this very same ideal: for every particle, there is an antiparticle.

    Academic text (2005)

  • OK, maybe the world just started with more particles and antiparticles and end of story.

  • Without it, the universe would have no particles or antiparticles, just radiation.

    Blog text (12)

  • A red arrow might represent an electron coming into being with its antiparticle, a positron.

  • But all that Dirac taught us is that antiparticles exist.

  • If you look at the fundamental interactions of matter, particles and antiparticles have a great deal in common.

    Blog text (33)

  • WIMPs are presumed to be their own antiparticles and therefore capable of mutual annihilation.

    Academic text (2012)

  • In the earliest instants after the big bang, the temperature was so high that particles and antiparticles were liberally created in equal numbers from radiant energy.

    Academic text (2004)

  • Every particle has a corresponding antiparticle that possesses opposite charge.

Surface Forms

antiparticle singular
antiparticles plural

Morphology

antiparticle = particle (semi-transparent) = anti + particle

The word is built transparently from 'anti-' + 'particle', but the scientific sense is specialized and may not be fully inferable for all learners.

Etymology

Antiparticle is made of anti- meaning 'against' or 'opposite' and particle meaning 'small piece', like in antibiotic or antifreeze where anti- means 'against'. So an antiparticle is a tiny counterpart that is the opposite of a particle — it has the same mass but an opposite charge, and when a particle and its antiparticle meet they cancel each other and release energy.