00:00Imagine a universe made up of antimatter.
00:04In this alternative reality, the constituents of matter are made up of particles with opposite charges,
00:10thus creating a strange and fascinating world.
00:13What could they look like?
00:15Would the laws of physics be reversed?
00:17Would time flow backwards?
00:19Fasten your seatbelts and let's explore this hypothesis together.
00:22Let's start by understanding what antimatter really is.
00:25It is well established that our universe is made up of matter,
00:28which is made up of tiny particles called atoms.
00:32These atoms are made up of protons, neutrons and electrons,
00:36which together form matter and make up everything around us, including ourselves.
00:41Antimatter, on the other hand, looks like ordinary matter, but with opposite properties.
00:46Like superheroes and their enemies with antagonistic powers,
00:50antimatter has opposite characteristics to matter.
00:54Thus, where ordinary matter contains protons charged positively,
00:58antimatter contains antiprotons charged negatively.
01:02Instead of electrons, we find positrons, and instead of neutrinos, antineutrinos.
01:08It's like a mirror reflection of everything we know.
01:12A particularly interesting aspect of antimatter
01:15is that when these particles collide with matter particles,
01:19they annihilate each other, releasing an immense amount of energy.
01:24This effect has both advantages and disadvantages.
01:28On the one hand, this property makes the study of antimatter extremely complex and expensive,
01:33requiring rigorous precautions to avoid that the antiparticles
01:37meet atoms of matter and annihilate each other.
01:41On the other hand, the enormous energy released could one day disrupt our technologies,
01:47especially in the propulsion systems of space travel.
01:50Imagine for a moment the extraordinary impact that could have.
01:55Researchers advance that, just after the Big Bang,
01:58matter and antimatter existed in equal quantities.
02:02This then raises a fundamental question.
02:05What happened to antimatter?
02:07If they had been perfectly balanced,
02:10our universe would have been instantly annihilated,
02:14particles and antiparticles annihilating each other.
02:18Alas, even scientists are not sure about this.
02:22A hypothesis suggests that the laws of physics in the primitive universe differed slightly,
02:27causing a slight imbalance between matter and antimatter.
02:32Thus, after the Big Bang, particles and antiparticles began to annihilate each other.
02:38For some unknown reason, antimatter gradually disappeared,
02:42leaving matter prevailing.
02:45This phenomenon, known as baryogenesis,
02:48would then have allowed the formation of our universe.
02:52However, there are also scientists who propose bolder theories.
02:58For example, a team of Canadian researchers from the Perimeter Institute of Theoretical Physics,
03:03led by Neil Turok,
03:05suggested that two universes would be given during the Big Bang.
03:09Ours, composed of matter,
03:11and a parallel universe, composed of antimatter.
03:16This is where all antimatter would have disappeared.
03:19According to this theory,
03:21the two universes separated shortly after their creation.
03:24As the distance between them increased,
03:27the interaction between particles and antiparticles
03:31gradually diminished,
03:33allowing matter to dominate in our universe,
03:36while antimatter prevailed in the other.
03:39But the most crucial question remains,
03:42what could this mysterious universe made of antimatter look like?
03:47We could imagine a universe where everything is inverted.
03:50Stars emitting a bluish light instead of yellow.
03:54Buildings made of glass reflecting light in the opposite direction.
03:58And laws of physics operating in the opposite direction of ours.
04:01Since antimatter has a charge opposite to that of ordinary matter,
04:05doesn't it seem logical?
04:07However, the reality is more complex.
04:10At first, scientists thought that this universe would be exactly identical to ours,
04:16thanks to a property formerly known as CP symmetry.
04:20The C refers to the charge conjugation,
04:24which means that each elementary particle has a twin with an opposite charge.
04:29The P refers to the symmetry of parity,
04:33that is, the symmetry of space.
04:35Thus, each of the three directions in our universe
04:38has an opposite direction in this alternative universe.
04:42In short, this means that
04:44the laws of physics remain identical
04:47regardless of the place or type of particle considered.
04:50By applying the laws of physics in reverse,
04:53in another place or with different particles,
04:56the results should normally remain unchanged.
05:00In simple terms,
05:02at first, scientists thought that the antimatter universe would be the exact reflection of ours.
05:07A mirror world, in every way similar,
05:10which would actually be quite monotonous.
05:13However, in the 1950s,
05:15an unexpected discovery shook these hypotheses.
05:18None of these symmetries were really verified.
05:22For example, a piece of cobalt-60 emits particles that rotate in a certain direction.
05:28However, the cobalt-60 antiparticle emits particles that rotate in the opposite direction,
05:35whereas they should have rotated in the same direction.
05:38How to explain this?
05:40It turned out that the CP symmetry
05:43did not apply in some cases of weak nuclear interaction,
05:47a force with sometimes confusing behavior.
05:51This observation left scientists perplexed for a long time.
05:55Then, they found a solution by adding a new dimension to the CP symmetry,
06:00the T symmetry,
06:02which corresponds to the inversion of time.
06:05This means that in the antimatter universe,
06:08time should flow from the future to the past.
06:12In this context, the CPT symmetry remained consistent.
06:17Thus, the antimatter universe would indeed be a mirror of our universe,
06:22but where time would be reversed.
06:25There could therefore be a version of you in this anti-universe,
06:29who would watch this video on an inverted screen,
06:32already knowing the end.
06:34Incredible, isn't it?
06:37Although this universe would seem similar to ours,
06:40it would be fundamentally different.
06:43In this world, events would take place in reverse.
06:47For example, broken objects would reconstitute themselves to become whole again.
06:51Individuals would regenerate, like Benjamin Button.
06:54And apples would fly out of Newton's head to regain their tree.
06:59Of course, all this remains highly speculative.
07:02It is very difficult to imagine a world where time flows in the opposite direction.
07:07And we can only imagine the surreal aspect of this inverted reality.
07:12But for now, this is what the data indicate.
07:15There could be an unknown element that would differentiate this world from antimatter,
07:20but as far as we know,
07:22it seems that this is what this mirror universe would look like.
07:27Scientists continue to study antimatter and its properties,
07:31because their understanding is crucial for several reasons.
07:35First of all, it allows us to better understand the universe and its origins.
07:40The imbalance between matter and antimatter within our universe
07:44is one of the greatest mysteries of physics,
07:47and studying antimatter could enlighten us on this phenomenon.
07:52Then, it enriches our knowledge of the physics of particles and subatomic particles.
07:57This understanding could help us to unravel the secrets of the universe
08:01and open the way to new discoveries.
08:04And of course, we must not forget the potential technological advances.
08:09Antimatter could serve as fuel for future space missions and many other technologies,
08:15especially in propulsion systems allowing to travel from planet to planet.
08:20Antimatter could also have medical applications,
08:23such as in cancer treatment, for example.
08:26In medical imaging, in addition,
08:28antimatter particles can produce images in very high body resolution,
08:33giving doctors a more accurate view.
08:37In short, understanding the properties of antimatter is essential for science.
08:42It is a captivating field of study that has the potential to reveal some of the greatest secrets of the universe.
08:50An antimatter universe would be a fascinating world to explore to discover how everything works.
08:57The true nature of this universe remains still a mystery, waiting to be studied and understood.
09:03Let's just hope that one day we will be able to elucidate this great enigma.
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