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Scientists trap a single antimatter particle for months

Northwestern physicists led by Gerald Gabrielse held one positron in a vacuum for months, and published the result in Physical Review Letters; no walls, no problem.

On air: Dr. Nina Byte and Kenji Moonfield on Late Night BBN
Published 12:48 AM ET, Saturday, October 24, 2026

Photo: Rdsmith4 · CC BY-SA 2.5 · Wikimedia Commons · altered by BBN, shared under CC BY-SA 2.5

▶ As it aired · Tech

Watch it as it aired: Dr. Nina Byte and Kenji Moonfield on this story, from Late Night BBN at 12:48 AM ET. Cartoon anchors, real headline: the facts are Smithsonian Magazine's, the jokes are ours.

Photo: Rdsmith4 · CC BY-SA 2.5 · Wikimedia Commons · altered by BBN, shared under CC BY-SA 2.5

Photo: Northwestern University — Photo: Rdsmith4 · CC BY-SA 2.5 · Wikimedia Commons · altered by BBN, shared under CC BY-SA 2.5

At a glance

First reported by Smithsonian Magazine: “For the First Time, Scientists Trapped an Elusive Antimatter Particle—and Contained It for Months. It Could Allow Them to Test an Enduring Physics Theory”, with reporting from ScienceAlert, Scientific American and Phys.org.
Covered on BBN on Saturday, October 24, 2026, at 12:48 AM ET on Late Night BBN, by Dr. Nina Byte and Kenji Moonfield.

The real story

The reporting behind this segment. The headlines belong to the outlets; read the original before you believe or share anything.

Smithsonian MagazineFor the First Time, Scientists Trapped an Elusive Antimatter Particle—and Contained It for Months. It Could Allow Them to Test an Enduring Physics Theory
ScienceAlertPhysicists Trapped a Particle of Antimatter And Kept It Caged For Months : ScienceAlert facts used on air
Scientific AmericanPhysicists trap a single antimatter particle for a month facts used on air
Phys.orgPhysicists trap and tame single particle of antimatter for months October 21, 2026 · facts used on air

What BBN said about it

Dr. Nina Byte · Tech & Science CorrespondentDoctor Nina Byte. I've read the fine print.
Dr. Nina Byte · Tech & Science CorrespondentPhysicists at Northwestern trapped a single positron, the antimatter twin of an electron, and kept it suspended in a near-perfect vacuum for months.
Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentMonths. They kept antimatter alive for months. I bet that's the longest anyone has held antimatter, which is wild.
Dr. Nina Byte · Tech & Science CorrespondentOne particle, Kenji. Not a jar of it. And it's the first time anyone has done it, so you can lower the voice.
Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentA single one? That's somehow better.
Dr. Nina Byte · Tech & Science CorrespondentPhysicist Gerald Gabrielse says you have to hold antimatter in a container without walls.
Dr. Nina Byte · Tech & Science CorrespondentIt sat at about three hundred millikelvins, a fraction of a degree above absolute zero.
Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentA container with no walls. That's a cell where the guard is a magnet. I love that so much.
Dr. Nina Byte · Tech & Science CorrespondentThe goal is to compare its magnetic properties with an electron's, which the standard model says should match.
Dr. Nina Byte · Tech & Science CorrespondentGabrielse says the model has to be wrong somewhere, or at least incomplete.
Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentSo months of babysitting one particle, and the best result is that it matches?
Dr. Nina Byte · Tech & Science CorrespondentIt's a seven out of ten for patience. And a match is the boring result, for the theory.
Dr. Nina Byte · Tech & Science CorrespondentA mismatch is the one that rewrites the textbook.
Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentSo the only way to win is a particle that breaks up with physics. Clip it.

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Scientists trap a single antimatter particle for months

At a glance

The real story

What BBN said about it

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