Article
Article
Positron
Article By:
DuBois, Robert D. Department of Physics, Missouri University of Science and Technology, Rolla, Missouri.
Last reviewed:August 2020
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.539400
The elementary antiparticle of an electron with mass equal to that of an electron but with positive rather than negative charge. Its existence was theoretically predicted by P. A. M. Dirac in 1928. It was first observed by C. D. Anderson in 1932. Positrons and electrons have the same spin and statistics. Positrons are naturally produced by radioactive decay of many heavier particles; this is referred to as beta-plus decay. Electron-positron pairs are also produced when high-energy photons or electrons interact with matter. See also: Antimatter; Electron; Electron-positron pair production; Electron spin; Elementary particle; Fermi-Dirac statistics; Particle accelerator; Quantum statistics; Radioactivity; Spin (quantum mechanics)
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