"TRAPPING ANTIMATTER"

            PHYSICISTS HAVE SUCCEEDED IN TRAPPING A FEW HUNDRED
       THOUSAND PARTICLES OF ANTIMATTER. THE TRAPPED PARTICLES
       WERE POSITRONS, THE ANTIMATTER VERSION OF ELECTRONS.

           THE TWO ARE IDENTICAL EXCEPT FOR ELECTRIC CHARGE, POSITRONS
       BEING POSITIVE AND ELECTRIONS NEGATIVE.

           RESEARCHERES AT AT&T BELL LABORATORIES AND THE UNIVERSITY
       OF CALIFORNIA IN SAN DIEGO SNARED THE FAST-MOVING POSITIRONS
       IN A WALNUT-SIZE TRAP OF MAGNETIC FIELDS. THEIR SOURCE WAS
       RADIOACTIVE SODIUM.

           THE POSITRONS FORMED A POSITIVE CHARGED PLASMA WITHIN
       THE MAGNETIC FIELD, WHICH ISOLATED THE PARTICLES FROM ORDINARY
       MATTER.  AFTER ABOUT A MIMUTE THE POSITRONS BEGAN LEAKING FROM
       THEIR MAGNETIC "bottle", VANISHING IN BURSTS OF ENERGY AS THEY
       COLLIED WITH ELECTRONS.

           THE EXPERIMENT RAISES THE POSSIBILITY THAT PHYSICISTS MIGHT
       SOMEDAY MANUFACTURE THE FIRST ANTIMATTER ELEMENT, ANTIHYDROGEN-
       (THE FILP SIDE OF HYDROGEN). THEORETICALLY, ANTIHYDROGEN IS
       THE MOST EFFICIENT SOURCE OF ENERGY CONCEIVABLE. IF ANTIHYDROGEN
       AND ORDINARY HYDROGEN COULD MEET, THEIR MASS WOULD BE COMPLETELY
       TRANSFORMED INTO ENERGY.
                                 -----****PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS****------

                                               *KARL WEST*

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