Question

Large quantities of antimatter isolated from normal matter should behave exactly like normal matter. An antiatom, for example, composed of positrons, antiprotons, and antineutrons should have the same atomic spectrum as its matter counterpart. Would you be able to tell it is antimatter by its emission of antiphotons? Explain briefly.

a) Yes, antiphotons have opposite properties
b) No, antiphotons are indistinguishable from photons
c) Antiphotons do not exist
d) Antiphotons have higher energy

Answer 1

You cannot distinguish an antiatom from a normal atom based on the emission of antiphotons because antiphotons do not exist, making the atomic spectra of antimatter and matter identical.

Step-by-step explanation:

No, you would not be able to tell if an atom is antimatter by its emission of antiphotons because antiphotons do not exist. The term antiphoton is misleading as photons are their own antiparticles. This means that they are identical to their supposed 'antiparticles' in all respects including their spectrum.

When an antiatom undergoes a transition that would normally result in the emission of a photon, it emits the same photon that a normal atom would. There is no difference in the properties between photons emitted from antimatter and those emitted from matter. Therefore, the emission spectrum of an antiatom would be identical to that of its matter counterpart, and it would be impossible to distinguish between the two based on their atomic spectra.