But classical physics and common sense dictated that the energy of a particle must always be a positive number. Dirac interpreted the equation to mean that for every particle there exists a corresponding antiparticle, exactly matching the particle but with opposite charge.
For example, for the electron there should be an "antielectron", or "positron", identical in every way but with a positive electric charge. The insight opened the possibility of entire galaxies and universes made of antimatter. But when matter and antimatter come into contact, they annihilate — disappearing in a flash of energy.
CharlesJQuarra August 4, , Coacervate August 4, , Perhaps someday we will learn to harvest the suns energy to make antimatter. Eniac August 4, , Or, perhaps I have made a mistake? Ron S August 4, , Or tea. Alex Tolley August 5, , Looks correct to me. Nice calc putting this in context. Michael August 5, , Jim B. August 9, , Adam August 5, , I wonder if They used antimatter to get there?
RobFlores August 5, , Enzo August 5, , Alex Tolley August 6, , Enzo August 6, , Jens Knudsen August 6, , Ron S August 7, , Enzo August 7, , Michael August 7, , Navin Weeraratne August 8, , Jens Knudsen August 8, , Jim Baerg August 17, , Paul Gilster August 17, , Charter In Centauri Dreams , Paul Gilster looks at peer-reviewed research on deep space exploration, with an eye toward interstellar possibilities. For the last twelve years, this site coordinated its efforts with the Tau Zero Foundation.
It now serves as an independent forum for deep space news and ideas. In the logo above, the leftmost star is Alpha Centauri, a triple system closer than any other star, and a primary target for early interstellar probes.
Now Reading. On Comments If you'd like to submit a comment for possible publication on Centauri Dreams , I will be glad to consider it. The primary criterion is that comments contribute meaningfully to the debate.
Among other criteria for selection: Comments must be on topic, directly related to the post in question, must use appropriate language, and must not be abusive to others. Civility counts. In addition, a valid email address is required for a comment to be considered. Centauri Dreams is emphatically not a soapbox for political or religious views submitted by individuals or organizations. A long form of the policy can be viewed on the Administrative page.
The short form is this: If your comment is not on topic and respectful to your fellow readers, I'm probably not going to run it. Follow with RSS or E-mail. Follow by e-mail Get new posts by email:. Advanced Propulsion Research. He said that ever since the inception of the big bang theory, physicists have wondered about an apparent lack of antimatter in our universe. It now seems that at least some of it is being hoarded near the galactic center.
Worldwide, one of the biggest threats to human health is a lack of available clean water. Lynn is using positrons to help improve nanofiltration technology that may make water treatment systems much more effective. We could have portable positrons.
Creating antimatter. In , American physicist, Carl Anderson confirmed that reality when he identified the first-known antiparticle, the positron, from cosmic rays — and was awarded the Nobel Prize.
Courtesy Kelvin Lynn. Simply speaking, antimatter is the exact opposite of matter. For every electron, proton or neutron in an atom, there exists a particle of opposite charge. Right now, there actually could be an anti-you sitting in front of an anti-computer in an anti-universe somewhere. But if you happened to meet yourself and shake hands — Boom! When matter and anti-matter meet, they annihilate each other — leaving nothing but energy behind.
Antimatter annihilates immediately on contact with matter, so these antimatter particles are very short-lived. Antimatter-matter annihilations have the potential to release a huge amount of energy. A gram of antimatter could produce an explosion the size of a nuclear bomb. However, humans have produced only a minuscule amount of antimatter. Those made at CERN amount to about 1 nanogram. The problem lies in the efficiency and cost of antimatter production and storage.
Making 1 gram of antimatter would require approximately 25 million billion kilowatt-hours of energy and cost over a million billion dollars.
To study antimatter, you need to prevent it from annihilating with matter. Scientists have created ways to do just that. Charged antimatter particles such as positrons and antiprotons can be held in devices called Penning traps. These are comparable to tiny accelerators. Inside, particles spiral around as the magnetic and electric fields keep them from colliding with the walls of the trap.
Because they have no charge, these particles cannot be confined by electric fields. Instead, they are held in Ioffe traps, which work by creating a region of space where the magnetic field gets larger in all directions. The particle gets stuck in the area with the weakest magnetic field, much like a marble rolling around the bottom of a bowl.
Antiprotons have been found in zones around the Earth called Van Allen radiation belts. Antimatter and matter particles have the same mass but differ in properties such as electric charge and spin. The Standard Model predicts that gravity should have the same effect on matter and antimatter; however, this has yet to be seen. These experiments need to hold antimatter in a trap or slow it down by cooling it to temperatures just above absolute zero.
0コメント