A group of researchers has discovered proof of an extraordinary particle that, bizarrely, is also its own antiparticle. About 80 years ago, scientists predicted its existence and now now seems like it might be a reality. The research, issued in the journal Science, were conducted by researchers from Stanford University and the University of California.
The theory of a particle having its own antiparticle was first presented by an Italian physicist Ettore Majorana in 1938. Ettore Majorana also mysteriously disappeared in 1938. According to him within the class of fermions, which include protons, electrons, and neutrons, some particles should have their own antiparticles, which are known as Majorana particles.
An antiparticle is a particle that has the same mass as the regular particle, but an opposite electric or magnetic property. For instance, the electron’s antiparticle is the positron. If the two encounter each other, they eradicate each other.
You can learn more about how scientists conducted the experiment here.
“Our team predicted exactly where to find the Majorana fermion and what to look for as it's ‘smoking gun’ experimental signature. This discovery concludes one of the most intensive searches in fundamental physics, which spanned exactly 80 years.”