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Does the negative mass of antimatter mean that it's gravitationally repelled from stars?


Grag 16th Nov, 2021
Answer (1)
Nitin Mereddy 16th Nov, 2021

Antimatter does not have negative mass. In our universe, there is no such thing as negative mass. Mass only comes in positive form. In contrast, electric charge can be positive or negative. The nonexistence of negative mass has profound consequences. First, gravity is always attractive and never repulsive. Presumably, if negative mass existed, it would be repelled by objects with positive mass such as the earth or sun. A cup made out of negative mass would fall up and not down when you let it go. As interesting as this sounds, negative mass does not exist, so heavier objects always fall down. Second, the lack of negative mass means that gravitational fields can never be shielded, blocked, or canceled. In contrast, electric charge comes in both positive and negative varieties. An electric field created by a positively charged object can therefore be blocked by a wall of negative charges. This is the principle used in metal shielding, which keeps the microwaves in a microwave oven from cooking everything in the kitchen. But there is no negative mass to cancel out gravity. If negative mass did exist, you could use it as a form of anti-gravity. If you built a floor on earth out of negative mass of sufficient size, then people above that floor would feel no gravity and would float around. Again, negative mass does not exist, so genuine anti-gravity is not possible. Gravity permeates every cell of every creature, and into the deepest dungeon with the thickest walls.

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