TODAY'S universe is only half the place it used to be. Admittedly there is still a lot of it around, locked up in dust and gas, but that's only half the story - quite literally. Over 13 billion years ago, the big bang forged equal amounts of matter and antimatter. Take a look around today though, and you'll see that all the antimatter has vanished.
It's lucky for us that it has. According to our best theories, all the matter and antimatter should have annihilated each other in a puff of radiation. The universe should be filled with pure light, not planets and stars and people. To create the universe we see today, matter somehow gained the upper hand over antimatter a fraction of a second after the big bang. But how?
Five shiny germanium cylinders sitting in a cavern under a mountain in central Italy hold the answer, or ...
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