Inside the antimatter factory

Red Pill Junkie, Mexico city — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 22:11:03 GMT

So no indoor skydive at CERN, huh? :-(

Then again, maybe THEY didn't show it to you, because you are NOT an Illuminatus! ;-)

Inside the antimatter factory

Nate, Saint Charles, MO — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 22:33:43 GMT

I thought there were theories of entire galaxies consisting of antimatter?

Inside the antimatter factory

Alan Boyle — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 23:26:07 GMT

In today's item, I once again mentioned the magnet break in the LHC tunnel ... and if you're interested in more about that issue, you should really review Thursday's item, where it's addressed in more depth. Pay particular attention to the comment from "E. in Geneve" that is appended to the item:

http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2007/06/21/232604.aspx

Inside the antimatter factory

Nate, Seattle, WA — Sat, 23 Jun 2007 00:49:15 GMT

"using laser light to analyze the spectral signature of antihydrogen" makes me wonder....wouldn't the laser need to use anti-photons (or some similar anti-boson thingie) to avoid unpleasant interactions with antimatter?

Inside the antimatter factory

Jerry West, Logansport, La. — Sat, 23 Jun 2007 01:09:07 GMT

why not instead of traping them ---obsorbe them ---you cannot control them with yoour magnets ---obsorb them in ------something like --liquid nitrogen -----then try adding stuff like Cl or Fl as an attractor to their negitivity

Inside the antimatter factory

Tom Newark, DE — Sat, 23 Jun 2007 04:59:28 GMT

Awesome story!! Did you see a old guy in a wheel chair with all kinds of electronics strapped to it at CERN?

The next war will be over antimatter, not these archaic fossil fuels.....

Inside the antimatter factory

Earl Fout,Tucson,Az. — Sat, 23 Jun 2007 13:13:18 GMT

Nate in Seattle:The photon is its own anti-particle.

Jerry in La.:Any thing other than an anti-matter element would annihilate on contact.

Inside the antimatter factory

mark, bolivar, oh — Sat, 23 Jun 2007 15:29:17 GMT

coolest job ever. aside from being a "mythbuster".

Inside the antimatter factory

John Doe, San Antonio, TX — Sat, 23 Jun 2007 20:27:24 GMT

To: Jerry West-

Wouldn't it have to be Liquid Anti-Nitrogen?

Inside the antimatter factory

Verklept, Weinerschnitzelbrazenhochmeinsteraufgebang, Deutchland — Sat, 23 Jun 2007 21:46:31 GMT

Wo ist der fatter und wo ist de mutter von anti-matter? Und hast Antie Matter ein mensch, Uncle Matter?

Inside the antimatter factory

Des Eert, St. Thomas, ON, Canada — Sun, 24 Jun 2007 01:34:56 GMT

Alan - good show, where are we going? You'll get enough stuff over there to last the summer, fer shure. I don't get that they're looking for a substitute power source, but satisfying their thirst for knowledge. Granted, satisfying that thirst could reveal new sources of power but that's not likely. Otherwise that power, like all the others we know about, gravity (I include water, and wind, tidal and related subjects in gravity), nuclear, oxidation (fossil fuels on fire - could Global Warming be blamed on reducing Oxygen instead of increasing CO2?), and electromagnetics, should be common in the universe. So far, matter and anti-matter merely annihilate each other; if that releases whatever energy is bound up in matter, the anti-energy bound up in anti-matter cancels it out. Which just elevates the level of mystery of why it formerly existed, but does not now, unless we invent it in things like the LHC.

We know that gravity exists in far-away galaxies. We know that nuclear forces operate the radiation we photograph in them. And we know electromagnetics control individual stars within them. We do not detect anti-matter evidence anywhere in the entire universe, in spite of theories that say we should. The LHC going full blast will be very interesting, indeed.

Inside the antimatter factory

Des Emery, St. Thomas, ON, Canada — Sun, 24 Jun 2007 01:39:36 GMT

Holy Cow, Alan! I know I shouldn't type with my laptop on my chest while I'm in bed. That's Des Emery, not Eert, who sent you that email. Goodness gracious!

Inside the antimatter factory

Traci K. Milwaukee WI — Sun, 24 Jun 2007 02:49:50 GMT

to: Jerry West-

Since anti-matter causes mutual destruction with ANY matter it comes into contact with, the ONLY way to control antimatter is using an electomagnetic field that matches the harmonics of the antimatter in question.

The hard part is finding the right configuration to capture the particle in stasis rather than launching it across the room. :-D

Inside the antimatter factory

Andy Russell, Everett WA — Sun, 24 Jun 2007 10:14:35 GMT

Mabey someone can answer this. If normal matter causes normal gravity, could anti-matter cause anti-gravity. Or atleast gravity that would oppose normal gravity? I've never seen any info about the possible properties of anti-matter gravity. Would the gravity produced by anti-matter be any different?

Inside the antimatter factory

the inventor — Sun, 24 Jun 2007 19:24:03 GMT

Dear Fellow Scientist,

NASA's rocket technology is not for real space exploration but here is one.

Sir, don't be dismayed to see how little information there is on the internet. Despite that, I hope you totally understand my need for anonymity. Assuming that the technology is as effective as I say it is, releasing it to the public in all its splendor could make the world think that a) I am off my rocker, b) that I'm completely wrong or c) just some sci-fi aficionado who's gone a bit too far.

Sad state of affairs, but hey, that's the price of true innovation right?

Regards,
The Inventor

Inside the antimatter factory

Nick Demakas, San Francisco, California — Sun, 24 Jun 2007 20:18:34 GMT

This is the biggest scientific breakthrough ive ever seen in my lifetime. I may only be 21 but these are the things i live for. how do i get into a field like that where i can change the world??

Inside the antimatter factory

ron — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 00:26:15 GMT

Jabs(I'm just a by stander).I luv new science.

Inside the antimatter factory

Martin M, Orlando, Florida — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 02:48:04 GMT

Mr Russell:

Antimatter should generate normal gravity just like normal matter. Sometimes people use the words "matter" and "mass" interchangablly. This impression leads them to conclude that antimatter must of antimass.. negative mass. Antimatter has normal mass just like normal matter. This is clear when you think about the fact that it takes alot of energy to create antimatter. By the equivalence of matter and energy, if it takes a positive amount of energy to create both matter and antimatter, they must both have positive mass. And positive mass means positive gravity.

Inside the antimatter factory

Des Emery, St. Thomas, ON, Canada — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 03:50:12 GMT

Inventor and Nick Demakes --

1.) The ability to constantly increase speed is 'acceleration.' That ability currently involves converting mass (propellant) into directed energy. Unless you have a way to gather more mass from your surroundings as your vehicle passes through that mass (even a near vacuum contains some mass) the vehicle will lose mass the longer it undergoes acceleration and therefore require less propellant as it moves in order to maintain the constant 1-g, until all the propellant mass is used up, at which moment the speed will stabilize and there will be no propellant to effect slow-down when the destination is reached.

2.) If I'm not mistaken there is also a problem with the entire unit. As I recall it, mass itself must increase in tandem with speed, becoming infinite at lightspeed, and is therefore impossible. That self-limiting nature of speed is common in all physical processes - think of evaporation; evaporation produces cooling, and cooling restricts evaporation. With speed, the faster you go, the harder it is to go even faster. Or am I missing something you know and I don't?

Inside the antimatter factory

Guy S. Newell — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 13:54:46 GMT

To "The Inventor". Why are you worried than people might think you're completely off your rocker? Maybe just a fry or two short of a happy meal, but not completely unrapped. Don't be shy. Show us what you've got and we'll be grateful for the entertainment if nothing else.

Inside the antimatter factory

David L , Columbus, Ohio — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 14:20:39 GMT

So what is the outcome of this?? Fame? Fortune? Any ways how does this bennifit mankind?

Inside the antimatter factory

Dennis McClain-Furmanski, Dalworthington Gardens, TX — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 15:16:43 GMT

I did a bit of "Big Science" tourism of my own. I was searching for large open land that we could use for amateur rocketry flights, and decided to look at the old Supercollider site near Dallas. I found that all that what would have been the tunnel is under land that is, and would still have been, used for cattle grazing. All the remained of the above ground section was a few buildings and a parking lot. All it was being used for was parking for some old police cars apparently beyond repair, rusting away like the rest of the facility. It was a very sad sight.

Inside the antimatter factory

Mark C — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 18:38:39 GMT

*** how do i get into a field like that where i can change the world?? ***

Uh, just a wild guess, but get a Ph.D. in physics maybe?

Inside the antimatter factory

donna dilla,dingle,iloilo — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 11:22:50 GMT

really...

i guess no indoor skydiving is allowed at CERN....

Inside the antimatter factory

barry — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 23:12:21 GMT

How can a magnet affect a sub-atomic particle? I'm way out of my league here but, I thought the only worked on ferrous metals. Are the magnets just THAT powerful of do these particles operate by a different set of rules when alone?

Inside the antimatter factory

Alan Boyle — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 01:30:57 GMT

Barry, magnetic fields can indeed influence charged subatomic particles. In fact, you may be taking advantage of that fact right now:

http://science.howstuffworks.com/atom-smasher2.htm

Inside the antimatter factory

kev, uk — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 20:53:04 GMT

Alan, I think the point the Barry was trying to make is that magnetic fields influence charged particles but will not influence anti-hydrogen which has a neutral charge.

I assume a strong fluctuating magnetic field might have some influence on a anti-hydrogen atom due to the fact that it is not perfectly neutral but comprises of a negative anti-proton core and a positive positron "shell". At very close ranges in an intense magnetic field there might be a slight assymetry in the charge distribution that can utilised.... maybe...

Inside the antimatter factory

Dreamer — Mon, 02 Jul 2007 17:56:01 GMT

I just wanted to add my 1 and a half cents on the practicality of anti-matter. If it can ever be manufactured and stored efficiently there could be multiple applications. Take, for instance, the lowly match stick. It takes a decent amount of energy to make and about two seconds to burn. Do you call that impractical? Well, yes but we do find a use for it every day. If anti-matter discharges its energy upon release and can be compressed to give us a energy source that outweighs the rest then, that could be our next match stick for things like plains, trains, cars, and of course space ships. Even though we may not see it in our life time just imagine what our kids can do with an energy source that is say the size of a brick and can fuel your car for years or even a week. We all know what is science fiction today can always be science fact tomorrow if we want it bad enough.

Inside the antimatter factory

Ian — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 18:51:59 GMT

to: Traci K. Milwaukee

Possibly a gravity trap, rather than electromagnetic. Gravity itself (as per Einstein) is not a particle, but spacetime itself. Therefore in a gravity trap, they would not have a risk of losing the panti-article to matter. However, I guess this would be known as a black hole, and would require matter so dense, or energy so great, that no only would we not be able to stabalize a black hole, but also we would not be able to study the anti-particle because it would be bound within the event horizon, and cannot be seen...

Inside the antimatter factory

Bobby Edris Pa age 13 — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 01:20:49 GMT

think about this if regular radioactive atoms can cause cancer what will the anti matter version of radioactivty do possibly give u internal life or a cure for cancer dont belive me the laws of Phisics have been rewritten many times think about it

Inside the antimatter factory

CS, Westminster, MD — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 23:08:46 GMT

They are missing on prime ingredient. A very simple one to keep the atoms from wandering. Of course I am not going to list it in here. If they want the item, all need would be to contact me, but I want the credit. This has been a life long study and I am surprised those scientist have not found it.

Inside the antimatter factory

CS — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 23:12:14 GMT

Bobby. The results of anti matter, on the human cellular body would not be any different. The human body is made up with cells in a genetic structure. to rearrange those cells, in the human body, would be the same results as radiation over consuming them. Hope this helps.