
Antimatter was predicted by British physicist Paul Dirac in 1928, while solving an equation that united quantum mechanics and relativity. In 1932, Carl Anderson first saw the positron in cosmic rays.
When a particle collides with its antiparticle, their mass completely converts into energy according to E=mc². This principle works in a PET scanner: a patient is injected with antimatter, and it 'lights up' tumors.