Antielectron
Cloud chamber photograph by C. D. Anderson of the first positron ever identified. A 6 mm lead plate separates the upper and lower halves of the chamber. The deflection and direction of the particle's ion trail indicate the particle is a positron (see below).
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| Composition | Elementary particle |
|---|---|
| Statistics | Fermionic |
| Generation | First |
| Interactions | Gravity, Electromagnetic, Weak |
| Symbol |
e+ , β+ |
| Antiparticle | Electron |
| Theorized | Paul Dirac (1928) |
| Discovered | Carl D. Anderson (1932) |
| Mass |
9.10938356(11)×10−31 kg |
| Electric charge | +1 e +1.602176565(35)×10−19 C |
| Spin | 1/2 |
9.10938356(11)×10−31 kg
5.485799090(16)×10−4 u
The positron or antielectron is the antiparticle or the antimatter counterpart of the electron. The positron has an electric charge of +1 e, a spin of 1/2, and has the same mass as an electron. When a low-energy positron collides with a low-energy electron, annihilation occurs, resulting in the production of two or more gamma ray photons (see electron–positron annihilation).
Positrons may be generated by positron emission radioactive decay (through weak interactions), or by pair production from a sufficiently energetic photon which is interacting with an atom in a material.
In 1928, Paul Dirac published a paper proposing that electrons can have both a positive charge and negative energy. This paper introduced the Dirac equation, a unification of quantum mechanics, special relativity, and the then-new concept of electron spin to explain the Zeeman effect. The paper did not explicitly predict a new particle but did allow for electrons having either positive or negative energy as solutions. Hermann Weyl then published a paper discussing the mathematical implications of the negative energy solution. The positive-energy solution explained experimental results, but Dirac was puzzled by the equally valid negative-energy solution that the mathematical model allowed. Quantum mechanics did not allow the negative energy solution to simply be ignored, as classical mechanics often did in such equations; the dual solution implied the possibility of an electron spontaneously jumping between positive and negative energy states. However, no such transition had yet been observed experimentally. He referred to the issues raised by this conflict between theory and observation as "difficulties" that were "unresolved".
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