Why this incredibly rare and dangerous substance costs $2,700,000,000,000,000 per gram
One teaspoon would create an explosion large enough to destroy all of Manhattan
An extremely rare and dangerous substance will set you back $2700 trillion per gram and is believed to be the most expensive material in the world.
One YouTuber has documented her journey to visit the place where the pricey stuff is created.
Dianna Cowern, known online as @physicsgirl, filmed herself arriving at a warehouse in France, right on the Swiss border.
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Located there is a factory that makes antimatter - a substance that is effectively the same as ordinary matter except it has the opposite electric charge.
In her video description, Cowern revealed that ‘scientists don’t know why this material is so rare’ but made it her mission to find out more for herself.
Talking to the camera about antimatter, she said: “It's the rarest substance in the universe, but scientists theorize that the big bang should have created a universe with equal amounts of matter and antimatter, and yet we look around and see almost completely matter.
“Why? That is surprisingly one of the biggest unanswered questions in physics”
In the clip, Cowern visited CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, which is one of the world's largest and most respected centers for scientific research.
In the video, she went on to explain that: “To figure out why antimatter is so rare, we have to first look at why it can be so dangerous.
“When antimatter comes into contact with regular matter, they annihilate. They disappear and they turn into pure light energy.
“If one teaspoon of antimatter came into contact with regular matter, it would create an explosion large enough to destroy all of Manhattan.”
There are several experiments taking place at the center and, speaking with experts, Cowern’s video went on to say that: “A few experiments are studying what will happen when you drop antimatter. Will it go down like regular matter?
“Nearly every physicist says, ‘Yes, we suspect it will go down when you drop it’.
“But we've never done that experiment. Another experiment is just trying to store antimatter in a container and carry it across the street.”
Taking to the YouTube comment section to share their thoughts, one user wrote: “So you’re telling me humans started somewhere in the woods and got to this.”
Another said: “Meanwhile in the antimatter universe, someone is trying to find matter.”
A third added: “Pretty expensive for something that doesn't matter…”
And a fourth joked: “I think I'll just wait until it goes on sale.”