Physicists have created, and for the first time trapped, antimatter atoms, one of the biggest mysteries of modern science, the European Centre for Nuclear Research says.
The Switzerland-based research institute, also known as CERN, said on Wednesday it had produced antihydrogen atoms - the opposite of a hydrogen atom - in a magnetic trap and kept them viable for more than 170 milliseconds.
Holding the antimatter in a vacuum for this fraction of a second allowed the physicists to study the atoms, CERN said in an article in the British journal Nature.
"We're ecstatic. This is five years of hard work," Jeffrey Hangst, a spokesman at CERN, told the journal.
An antihydrogen atom is made from a negatively charged antiproton and a positively charged positron, the antimatter counterpart of the electron.
Experiments have produced antimatter atoms before but only in a free state. That means they instantly collide with ordinary matter and get annihilated, making it impossible to measure them or study their structure.
Cool, Warp Factor 5, Scotty. :lol:Physicists capture antimatter - Europe - Al Jazeera English
I didn't realize they had created antimatter before. I thought it's existence was still just a theory!
I can't wait to find out what they can do with it.
Cool, Warp Factor 5, Scotty. :lol:
Antimatter is very real but it's a burden to produce given our world's current energy economy. I don't remember where I heard this figure from so if there are physicists on the board who want to correct me I invite them to do so, but I heard it would take billions of dollars to produce a single theoretical gram of antimatter; however, a few grams could power a return trip to mars while making the fuel cargo way less cumbersome.
I think as a research avenue it's very interesting, but for our practical existence it would make much more sense to try and conquer fusion as a concept. (If it's possible, that is.)
Wooo Hoo my evil plan is working.....Just a few steps left till my bomb is ready
If you took all of the antimatter produced to date, you couldn't even heat up a pot of coffee.
Fermilab in Batavia, Illinois is the largest producer of antimatter in the world. In the Tevatron accelerator located there, protons and anti-protons collide at close to the speed of light (c). It is estimated that the cost required to create one pound of antimatter is greater than the financial assets of every nation on earth combined.Antimatter is very real but it's a burden to produce given our world's current energy economy. I don't remember where I heard this figure from so if there are physicists on the board who want to correct me I invite them to do so, but I heard it would take billions of dollars to produce a single theoretical gram of antimatter; however, a few grams could power a return trip to mars while making the fuel cargo way less cumbersome.
Hey don't rain on my parade man:2razz:
Fermilab in Batavia, Illinois is the largest producer of antimatter in the world. In the Tevatron accelerator located there, protons and anti-protons collide at close to the speed of light (c). It is estimated that the cost required to create one pound of antimatter is greater than the financial assets of every nation on earth combined.
It is to expensive to produce commercially, now.Fermilab in Batavia, Illinois is the largest producer of antimatter in the world. In the Tevatron accelerator located there, protons and anti-protons collide at close to the speed of light (c). It is estimated that the cost required to create one pound of antimatter is greater than the financial assets of every nation on earth combined.
Originally Posted by Orion
(snip)
I think as a research avenue it's very interesting, but for our practical existence it would make much more sense to try and conquer fusion as a concept. (If it's possible, that is.
It requires approximately 1E6 protons to make 1 anti-proton (pbar). Fermilab produces and stacks around 250E10 pbars in 16 hours. Stacking means that the pbars are introduced into the storage/injector ring.It is also impossible for us to store anti-matter safely or control the pair annihilation reaction, yet.
It requires approximately 1E6 protons to make 1 anti-proton (pbar). Fermilab produces and stacks around 250E10 pbars in 16 hours. Stacking means that the pbars are introduced into the storage/injector ring.
Perhaps I should have been more clear, by storage I meant safe long term (Hours, weeks, months, years) not milliseconds storage of commercially viable quantities. No we can't do that yet. I am confident that at some point that hurtle will be overcome, with the person/persons responsible earning the Nobel Prize in physics.It requires approximately 1E6 protons to make 1 anti-proton (pbar). Fermilab produces and stacks around 250E10 pbars in 16 hours. Stacking means that the pbars are introduced into the storage/injector ring.
(snip)
Looks like something very weird happened to Mickey's other ear there.
Must have been the antimatter.
:lol:
Don't do antimatter!
Anti-matter=meth for nerds.
Real supervillains use lasers anyway.
Fermilab in Batavia, Illinois is the largest producer of antimatter in the world. In the Tevatron accelerator located there, protons and anti-protons collide at close to the speed of light (c). It is estimated that the cost required to create one pound of antimatter is greater than the financial assets of every nation on earth combined.
Think of the explosive destruction that is possible if it fell into the wrong hands.
Think of the explosive destruction that is possible if it fell into the wrong hands.
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