They do it, as chroot said, in colliders such as CERN and Fermilab by (large) magnetic fields. It circles the colliders in the opposite direction as "normal" matter, and when enough is injected into the stream, it is diverted into a collision chamber where it collides with matter and creates some of the more exotic and energetic particles recently discovered. Z and W particles for example, and still looking for a possible "Higgs" particle.Originally posted by Inquiring_Mike
Recently read in an article that the fuel of the future was antimatter... My question is how would they contain antimatter to get it to react with only the matter that they wanted it to react with. You wouldn't be able to put it in a container, wouldn't it collide with the matter and completely annilihate itself?
Originally posted by Phobos
Welcome to Physics Forums, Inquiring_Mike!
Your suspicion is correct...antimatter is a tricky thing to store. Chroot and Labguy explain how it's possible, but so far no one has made a way to store a large enough quantity for a long enough time in order to make it a feasible fuel alternative. Even generating the stuff is insanely expensive (you need, like, a supercollider).
Originally posted by jimmy p
What is more effective at containing antimatter, a magnetic field or using an electromagnet, and wouldn't it be quite unefficient? i mean wouldn't a lot of energy be needed to contain the antimatter, or would the resultant matter-antimatter reaction provide more than enough energy?
Since the point of containment is simply keeping the anti-matter from touching anything, all you need to overcome is its kinetic energy. Not much.Originally posted by jimmy p
I know this is theoretical (as believe it or not, Star Trek isn't real ) but there must be equations to work out the energy needed to store antimatter.
And how would you bolt this anti-engine to your spaceship without annihilating the solar system?All you need is an magnet, a vacuumchamber and an anti-metall, like anti-iron (if it exists) if not less. The trick is to find the anti-metall, instead of making it.
Originally posted by russ_watters
Since the point of containment is simply keeping the anti-matter from touching anything, all you need to overcome is its kinetic energy. Not much. And how would you bolt this anti-engine to your spaceship without annihilating the solar system?
Could we attach it to my car? I think I'm going to have some fun getting to work tomorrow...Originally posted by LURCH
...perhaps you could set it on a platform with a pully attached to the ceiling? No wait, attached to the platform?[b(]
Antimatter is a form of matter composed of antiparticles, which have the same mass as their corresponding particles but opposite charge. When antimatter comes into contact with matter, they annihilate each other and release a large amount of energy in the form of gamma rays.
Antimatter can be produced through high-energy collisions, such as those in particle accelerators, or through radioactive decay. It can also be found naturally in outer space, such as in cosmic rays.
Antimatter has a much higher energy density than any known fuel, meaning that a small amount of antimatter can produce a large amount of energy. It also produces no harmful emissions, making it a clean and efficient source of energy.
While antimatter has been produced in small amounts in laboratory settings, the technology to produce and store large quantities of antimatter is still in its early stages of development. There are also significant challenges in harnessing the energy from antimatter reactions.
The potential benefits of using antimatter as a fuel include its high energy density, lack of harmful emissions, and potential for use in space travel. However, there are also risks involved, such as the high cost and difficulty in producing and storing antimatter, as well as the potential for catastrophic explosions if not handled properly.