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Quote from: puppypowerHave positrons even been seen in any collider experiments, remaining as a single particle state, like the electron, when all the rest of the matter has been broken down to smaller particles?Yes, as far as we can tell, positrons behave identically to electrons- apart from them being anti-particles of electrons with opposite quantum numbersThere are two particles that are just like "heavy electrons": the muon particle (207 times heavier than an electron) and tau particle (3,475 times as massive).- The Muon and Tau do decay into lighter particles- However, we know of no particles lighter than the electron and positron that they could decay into (and still retain the quantum numbers balanced).- So both the electron and positron are thought to be stable, while muon and tau (plus anti-muon and anti-tau) are not stableSee: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muonhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tau_(particle)It is possible to store electrons and positrons indefinitely using magnetic fields- In fact, today's LHC at CERN was built in the tunnel that was originally housed LEP: It stored electrons and positrons in a ring, so their interactions could be studiedSee: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Large_Electron%E2%80%93Positron_Collider
Have positrons even been seen in any collider experiments, remaining as a single particle state, like the electron, when all the rest of the matter has been broken down to smaller particles?
The positive charge, in our reality, is not permanently attached to mass, but can be broken down.
The proton is not the built the same way.
The negative charge is more unified to mass.
However, like a large building that forms a crack in a weight bearing footing, one can try to ignore it due to the inconvenience it can cause.