Antimatter is a form of matter composed of antiparticles, which have the same mass as their corresponding particles but opposite electric charge. When antimatter particles come into contact with their corresponding matter particles, they can annihilate each other, converting their mass into energy according to Einstein's famous equation, E = mc².
The reason why the charges don't just cancel out and leave uncharged particles is due to the conservation of electric charge. In any particle interaction or reaction, the total electric charge must be conserved. In the case of matter-antimatter annihilation, both particles have opposite charges, so when they come into contact, their charges effectively cancel each other out. However, this annihilation process doesn't violate the conservation of charge because the total electric charge before and after the annihilation remains zero.
The annihilation of matter and antimatter releases a tremendous amount of energy because mass is converted into energy. According to Einstein's equation, E = mc², even a small amount of mass can be converted into a large amount of energy. Since both matter and antimatter particles have mass, their annihilation results in the complete conversion of their mass into energy, typically in the form of gamma rays.
It's worth noting that antimatter is relatively rare in the universe, and it is challenging to produce and store in significant quantities. However, the annihilation of small amounts of antimatter with matter has been observed and studied in laboratory experiments and in natural phenomena, such as certain types of high-energy particle interactions or cosmic events.