What exactly is antimatter, and what are its applications in our world?

[Lan(r)12]

At the risk of sounding completely ignorant and naive, I was wondering if you all could tell me some more about anitmatter.

I understand that there are elementary particles such as positrons and anitprotons and that they could conceivably form "anithydrogen" (or maybe they already have?)...but what are these particles exactly? Are they made of the same "material" that regular matter is?

 

As far as I know, the touching of matter and antimatter yields a reaction called "annihalation", right? Is this in any way similar to nuetralization reactions in chemistry, or sound waves of opposing "polarities" canceling each other out?

 

And if this reaction (I keep calling it a reaction because thats what I think it is, Im not sure though, that might not be the correct term) is so violent and occurs whenever matter contacts anitmatter, how could they possible keep ANY antimatter on Earth?

 

Are they "quarantined" in a vaccuum? And if they are, I thought true vaccuums were unsustainable on Earth? If not, are they incredibly fleeting particles? How are they studied since they would seem to cause problems in conventional laboratory setups?

 

I know that I have a lot of questions, but any information and/or links are greatly appreciated

 

Thanks!

[virgo]

At the risk of sounding completely ignorant and naive, I was wondering if you all could tell me some more about anitmatter.

I understand that there are elementary particles such as positrons and anitprotons and that they could conceivably form "anithydrogen" (or maybe they already have?)

 

In 1995, the CERN laboratory in Geneva first produced antihydrogen in the LEAR by shooting antiprotons, which were produced in a particle accelerator, at xenon clusters.

 

As far as I know, the touching of matter and antimatter yields a reaction called "annihalation", right? Is this in any way similar to nuetralization reactions in chemistry, or sound waves of opposing "polarities" canceling each other out?

 

Annihilation is defined as "total destruction" or "complete obliteration" of an object having its root in the Latin nihil (nothing). A literal translation is "to make into nothing". Annihilation is the opposite of exnihilation, which means "to create something out of nothing".

 

And if this reaction (I keep calling it a reaction because thats what I think it is, Im not sure though, that might not be the correct term) is so violent and occurs whenever matter contacts anitmatter, how could they possible keep ANY antimatter on Earth?

 

Penning traps are devices for the storage of charged particles using a constant static magnetic field and a spatially inhomogeneous static electric field. This kind of trap is particularly well suited to precision measurements of properties of ions and stable subatomic particles which have electric charge.

 

copy-paste from wikipedia I have never seen any antimatter myself. Else i would be dead i think.

[moth]

here's something i came across yesterday about producing positrons.

http://focus.aps.org/story/v23/st8

they don't seem to be trying to store the anti-matter, just detect it by it's annihilation.

maybe these guys could store some for a little while.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6991030.stm

[swansont]

copy-paste from wikipedia I have never seen any antimatter myself. Else i would be dead i think.

 

You have antimatter passing through you continually.

 

 

——

 

Antimatter has opposite charge and parity of its matter counterpart

 

http://www.cem.msu.edu/~cem181fp/antimatter/antimatter.html

http://www.lbl.gov/abc/wallchart/chapters/05/2.html

[virgo]

You have antimatter passing through you continually.

Ok, may be you are right, but i dont SEE it

[cameron marical]

so an electron and proton, is alot like matter and antimatter, am i right?

 

one is equal to the other through opposite states, and they cancel each other out.

 

is there such a thing as an quantum antimatter explanation? if so, whats the name? thanks.

[max.yevs]

right, but an electron + proton = neutron

electron + positron = energy

 

its like your avatar picture thingy- pretend all those green numbers are antimatter

[cameron marical]

how exactly do they make postitrons?

[samtheflash82]

you can't "make" a positron. it is created in a large hadron collider if i'm not mistaken and it would only exist for an incredibly small period of time.

[cameron marical]

why would it only exist for a small amount of time, just keep it in a vaccum, with no light getting to it, and it should be safe right? and i read about something about pair production, no lhc's involved in that.

[max.yevs]

Vaccuum by itself would not work, it also requires a strong magnetic field to keep them in place.

 

Only way i've found that positrons are made is some types of positron emission:

11/6C → 11/5B + positron + neutrino + 0.96 MeV

 

Summary of All Nuclear Physics

Part 1: Antimatter

 

I think I've got it figured out:

neutron = quarks + neutrino + electron + positron

proton = quarks + positron + neutrino

antiproton (antimatter proton)= quarks + electron + neutrino

quarks = mass, non-charged

electron = charged positive, miniscule weight

positron (antimatter electron)= charged negative, miniscule weight

neutrino = non-charged, miniscule weight

 

And what is light, gamma rays, and other parts of the electromagnetic spectrum? Pure energy. For example, antimatter annihilates matter (i.e. electron + positron, antiproton + proton) to create pure energy. These rays often excite atoms to release heat.

 

So basically, antimatter is like a picture with its colors reversed. The nuclei have antiprotons instead of protons, and so are negative. The negative electrons flying around are instead positive positrons flying around.

 

Now lets consider positron emission again

11/6C → 11/5B + positron + neutrino + 0.96 MeV

the proton basically just breaks up

proton → quarks + positron + neutrino

 

This also lets loose the electron which had been orbiting that proton. Without a strong magnetic field, they annihilate each other.

 

Question is, where do the quarks go?

According to Einstein’s special relativity, [math]E = mc^2[/math], mass is actually converted into energy, which is where the 0.96 MeV come from.

 

That puts a nice bowtie on all the nuclear research ever done...

Edited March 27, 2009 by max.yevs

[swansont]

so an electron and proton, is alot like matter and antimatter, am i right?

 

one is equal to the other through opposite states, and they cancel each other out.

 

is there such a thing as an quantum antimatter explanation? if so, whats the name? thanks.

 

A proton and electron are different types of particles. The antiparticles to each are an antiproton and positron. If a proton and electron were to combine, you'd get a neutron and a neutrino.

 

To get a positron, you can either create an electron/positron pair, which requires at least 1.02 MeV of energy (their mass energy) in a collision or from a photon. You can also get it in a beta decay, where a proton changes into a neutron, positron and neutrino; this happens in some nuclei.

---

Merged post follows:

Consecutive posts merged

Now lets consider positron emission again

11/6C → 11/5B + positron + neutrino + 0.96 MeV

the proton basically just breaks up

proton → quarks + positron + neutrino

 

You get a neutron here; both the neutron and proton are comprised of 3 quarks. What happens here is that an "up" quark changes into a "down" quark (proton is uud, neutron is udd) You never see quarks on their own.

[Lan(r)12]

You have antimatter passing through you continually.

 

 

——

 

Antimatter has opposite charge and parity of its matter counterpart

 

http://www.cem.msu.edu/~cem181fp/antimatter/antimatter.html

http://www.lbl.gov/abc/wallchart/chapters/05/2.html

 

How can anitmatter pass through you continually? It is naturally ocurring on Earth?

[Klaynos]

How can anitmatter pass through you continually? It is naturally ocurring on Earth?

 

Anti-neutrinos billions upon billions every second pass through you.

 

Yes, antimatter is naturally occuring. "On earth" the most abundant other than anti-neutrinos is probably positrons which are produced in positive beta decay as Swansont mentions above.

[max.yevs]

You get a neutron here; both the neutron and proton are comprised of 3 quarks. What happens here is that an "up" quark changes into a "down" quark (proton is uud, neutron is udd) You never see quarks on their own.

 

oh right, im an idiot... the atom stays at a mass of 11...

 

which throws off that whole post.

[Quetzalcoatl]

So light is the anti-"matter" of itself!

[proton]

At the risk of sounding completely ignorant and naive, I was wondering if you all could tell me some more about anitmatter.

Each particle has an anti-particle associated with it. The anti-particle has the same mass as the particle but the opposite charge and opposite magnetic moment of the particle. When matter and anti-matter annihilate the result is a two or more photons.

[Klaynos]

So light is the anti-"matter" of itself!

 

Yep.