Where no teacher has gone before: Antimatter Megan Alvord, Selçuk Yusuf Arslan, Stefania Della Sciucca, Caroline Ribas, Gregoire Travaille HST Programme 2019

Curriculum & classroom connections Antimatter is not a typical topic found in most physics classrooms. However, this is a subject that fascinates and engages students and is worth tying in with the curriculum you already have.

Where can you introduce antimatter into your curriculum? We can cover antiparticles during discussion of the atomic model and within radioactive decay units, allowing the incorporation into physics and chemistry. In addition, when an antiparticle and particle meet, there is annihilation. Annihilation obeys the 3 rules that outline all of physics: the conservation of energy, the conservation of momentum, and the conservation of charge. Antimatter physics usually requires abstraction ⇒ Link with ICT course so as to develop visual models addressing student misconceptions

Key ideas Antimatter ⇒ not an accurate description for what we can actually produce and have remain stable ⇒ Antiparticles After the Big Bang ⇒ our universe 50% particles and 50% antiparticles ⇒ Not confirmed by experiments For the most motivated and curious students ⇒ Symmetry issues explained outside of class Natural source of antiparticles : Beta decay / Cosmic rays / Galaxy Cores Positrons ALREADY used for medical imaging. In the future ⇒ heavy antiparticles emission in Radiotherapy 511 keV picture of the center of the Milky Way (taken by the Integral satellite - ESA)

To produce antiparticles (example: antihydrogen): Produce them via head on collisions of elementary particles (first time in 2002) Trap them (penning traps, 2010) Cool them (the challenge right now: 0,1 K currently / 1 microK)

Potential students’ conceptions It is just about science fiction It is easy to produce and you can not put it in a bottle! It is a weapon Illustrate elements of the topic that might obstruct a successful introduction in the classroom Antimatter is real, but it is not a weapon and it cannot be put into a bottle (yet…?) Misconception: Matter and antimatter are attracted to each other Misconception: any type of matter and any type of antimatter will annihilate. The correct thinking is that a proton will only annihilate an antiproton and only if they meet each other. Where do these misconceptions come from? Use in science fiction, such as Star Trek (a crucial component of 23rd century starships), Angels and Demons, etc.

Potential students’ challenges AM is real even if just in terms of antiparticles Matter and antimatter do not attract each other but when they meet, annihilation occurs Avoid the struggle about charges of particles within atom Many students already struggle with the idea of charge. Introducing anti-particles and the fact that they have opposite charge of particles. Care should be taken to avoid further confusion. We do not want students walking around thinking an electron is positively charged!

Helpful material and resources CERN S’Cool Lab Ion Trap Video and photos of Antimatter Factory YouTube Matter with antimatter Minute Physics

Best practice example Show a clip of antimatter from Angels and Demons movie or a Star Trek episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNt9zHZR0eM Have students work in small groups to answer the following: How was antimatter showcased in the video? What is correct with their interpretation? What is incorrect with their interpretation?

Extension Create a story in which the characters use antiparticles correctly: Ideas include Short story Comic strip Short video Music video Presentation Movie storyboard

Using ICT to teach antimatter!

Be interdisciplinary - Use ICT! · At the end of the lesson, students can design a drag&drop game with any block-based programming tools such as Kodu, Scratch, Minecraft Education Edition etc. The students select a topic in below; Hierarchy of matter Explanation of Anti-Matter Anti-Matters in LHC Principle of Anti-Proton Anti-Matter in Daily use

Thank you and Questions