|
A positron is the antiparticle of the electron. It is antimatter, has an
electric charge of +1, a spin of 1/2, and the same mass as an electron. When a positron annihilates with an electron, their mass is converted into energy in
the form of two gamma ray photons, see
Electron-positron annihilation.
A positron may be generated by positron emission radioactive
decay, or the interaction of photons of energy greater than 1.022 MeV with matter. This
process is called pair production, as it generates both an electron and a positron from the energy of the photon.
See also
|