For decades, scientists have been puzzled by the mystery over the fate of the antimatter that the Big Bang gave rise to. It is believed that at the moment of the Big Bang, matter and antimatter, both of which are described as having mass and taking up space, were produced in equal amounts. Matter became the building block upon which everything exists while antimatter seemed to just disappear.

However, this may be a mystery no more as internationally acclaimed physicists working within the European Organization for Nuclear Research, were able to prove that atoms of anti-hydrogen can be probed in a lab by isolating them for a sufficient duration.

Through their spokesman, Jeffrey Hangst who is an American scientist, the team said that it was a groundbreaking achievement since they will now be able to compare matter and antimatter. The scientists who hail from Britain, Canada, US, Brazil and Israel were able to trap 38 anti-hydrogen atoms singularly for more than a mere fraction of a second. They published their findings in the online journal, Nature, on Wednesday.

Although scientists have over time managed to isolate single atoms of antimatter like anti-protons, anti-neutrons and positrons, none have been trapped long enough to be studied. This is because atoms made of matter and antimatter destroy each other upon contact in a burst of energy.

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