Until now, flying cars and anti-gravity-powered skateboards were the province of science fiction. But scientists are hot on the trail of anti-gravity in the real world. Researchers at CERN’s Antihydrogen Laser Physics Apparatus (ALPHA) recently managed to trap 309 antihydrogen atoms for up to 1000 seconds, which is a much larger amount of antihydrogen and a much longer time period than was previously accomplished. This will allow the scientists to study the particles’ behavior in several experiments. So how does that lead to flying cars?

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Well, the theory is that anti-matter might “fall up,” or react in the opposite way that regular matter does to gravity. If this is found to be true, the implications for technology would be staggering. Think not only zero emissions flying cars and Marty McFly skateboards, but also new frontiers for space travel and physics, and the discovery of whole antimatter galaxies and other elusive bodies of antimatter that could explain why our equations for how the universe works don’t quite add up. In short, it would turn our world upside down. Answers could be coming soon. The researchers will cool a lump of antihydrogen over the next few months to see if it falls up or down.

Via DVICE

Hoverboard action shot courtesy of Phantom Leap