Nobel Lecture by Paul A. M. Dirac; Theory of electrons and positrons [1933]

Nobel Lecture; The Nobel Prize in Physics 1933, {Theory of Electrons and Positrons}; by Paul A.M. Dirac; December 12, 1933

From our theoretical picture, we should expect an ordinary electron, with positive energy, to be able to drop into a hole and fill up this hole, the energy being liberated in the form of electromagnetic radiation. This would mean a process in which an electron and a positron annihilate one another. The converse process, namely the creation of an electron and a positron from electromagnetic radiation, should also be able to take place. Such processes appear to have been found experimentally, and are at present being more closely investigated by experimenters.

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