The Asymmetry between Matter and Antimatter; October 1998; Scientific American Magazine; by Quinn, Witherell; 6 Page(s)

As far as humans can see into the universe, an essential imbalance strikes the eye. Stars, planets, asteroids, rocks--everything is made of matter. Essentially no antimatter is evident.

Is this imbalance the result of an accident, a chance occurrence during the birth of the universe? Or is it an inevitable outcome of some asymmetry in the laws of nature? Theorists believe that the excess of matter comes from fundamental disparities in how matter and antimatter behave. These differences amount to violations of a symmetry called charge-parity reversal, or CP.