
Transporting the most expensive and volatile substance on Earth
From Science Weekly by The Guardian
March 26, 2026 · 16 min
About this episode
The episode discusses a world-first experiment in transporting antimatter, featuring insights from experts at Cern.
A box the size of a filing cabinet was lifted by crane, slowly moved and placed very carefully in the back of an unassuming lorry earlier this week. What looked like a casual drive around the Cern campus was actually a world-first experiment in transporting antimatter, the most expensive and volatile substance on Earth. To find out why scientists wanted to achieve this milestone, and what happened on the journey, Madeleine Finlay hears from the Guardian’s science editor, Ian Sample, and the Cern physicist Dr Christian Smorra.. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod
People in this episode
Host: Madeleine Finlay
Guests: Ian Sample, Dr Christian Smorra
Topics covered
- antimatter
- transportation
- science experiment
- Cern
- volatile substances
Keywords
- antimatter
- transport
- Cern
- science
- volatile substance
- experiment
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Cern, The Guardian
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