Anti-matter and Light Energy

[Fallen]

I'm a little nervous about this post. If there's a level of science beneath beginner, I'd still be too short to reach it. My science knowledge (beyond linguistics) is very, very limited. (I hope I have the right place here to ask this from you lovely people too.)

 

May I ask two things:

 

1) If matter and anti-matter touch, creating an explosion, what effect would light energy have on anti-matter?

 

2) in order to stop anti-matter and matter touching, what kind of field would you need to surround the anti-matter?

 

(As far as I remember, anti-matter is man-made, it's not been around since the big bang. Is this right?)

 

 

Thank you for any help that's out there.

[ajb]

1) If matter and anti-matter touch, creating an explosion, what effect would light energy have on anti-matter?

 

So matter and antimatter annihilate when they come into contact. By this we mean that they are converted into photons. (Well we can have matter + antimatter -> stuff other than just photons)

 

 

2) in order to stop anti-matter and matter touching, what kind of field would you need to surround the anti-matter?

 

People trap antimatter using magnetic fields. You will be interested in penning traps.

 

(As far as I remember, anti-matter is man-made, it's not been around since the big bang. Is this right?)

 

Antimatter is also a natural phenomena. For example antimatter can be a component of cosmic rays and emitted from radioactive sources.

[Fallen]

Thank you, ajb.

 

 

So matter and antimatter annihilate when they come into contact. By this we mean

that they are converted into photons. (Well we can have matter +

antimatter -> stuff other than just photons)

 

Brilliant. That's given me something else to look into. Thank you.

 

 

 

 

People trap antimatter using magnetic fields. You will be interested in penning traps.

 

Link's added to favourites. Thank you for that too.

 

 

Antimatter is also a natural phenomena. For example antimatter can be a

component of cosmic rays and emitted from radioactive sources.

 

Ah, which is why I failed science.... Can I take from that, then, that antimatter reacts with light energy and is purely propelled? I guess I'm thinking solar flares here, or CME's, supernovas, the radiation stream from blackholes, etc: anything that forces antimatter/matter to move?

 

And thank you again for your help, ajb. It's a huge help.

[ajb]

Can I take from that, then, that antimatter reacts with light energy and is purely propelled?

 

For example, both electrons and positrons have electric charge, negative one unit and positive one unit respectively. Because they carry electric charge they can be accelerated by electric and magnetic fields.

 

The force on a charged particle due to an electromagnetic field is called the Lorentz force.

[Fallen]

That's brilliant. Thank you, ajb You've been very helpful.

[DrRocket]

I'm a little nervous about this post. If there's a level of science beneath beginner, I'd still be too short to reach it. My science knowledge (beyond linguistics) is very, very limited. (I hope I have the right place here to ask this from you lovely people too.)

 

Step one in understanding a subject is recognizing what you don't understand. You are off to a very good start.

 

May I ask two things:

 

1) If matter and anti-matter touch, creating an explosion, what effect would light energy have on anti-matter?

 

2) in order to stop anti-matter and matter touching, what kind of field would you need to surround the anti-matter?

 

(As far as I remember, anti-matter is man-made, it's not been around since the big bang. Is this right?)

 

 

Thank you for any help that's out there.

 

First, everything that ajb told you is both correct and very clearly explained.

 

However, you should be aware that at this stage of the game some anti-particles are relatively common (for instancen the Fermilab accelerator at Batavia Illinois regularly conducts proton-antiproton collision experiments and some small fraction of cosmic rays are anti-particles ) but actual atoms composed of anti-particles are not at all common. A few atoms of antip-hydrogen and anti-helium have been produced, but macroscopic quantities of anti-matter in the fashion of science fiction movies remain science fiction.

[yaik7a]

I'd just like to add that Anti-Matter Matter collusion has been experimented with since the 30's I believe, however mostly in the field of Positron Electron Collusion though, I would love to see more research devoted to non balanced AMM collisions like a Anti Proton with an a electron which would require a super collider of course or more research into a "cold" collusion.

Edited January 27, 2012 by yaik7a

[Fallen]

Step one in understanding a subject is recognizing what you don't understand. You are off to a very good start.

 

 

 

First, everything that ajb told you is both correct and very clearly explained.

 

However, you should be aware that at this stage of the game some anti-particles are relatively common (for instancen the Fermilab accelerator at Batavia Illinois regularly conducts proton-antiproton collision experiments and some small fraction of cosmic rays are anti-particles ) but actual atoms composed of anti-particles are not at all common. A few atoms of antip-hydrogen and anti-helium have been produced, but macroscopic quantities of anti-matter in the fashion of science fiction movies remain science fiction.

 

Thank you, DrRocket! I had a track through some articles over the weekend too. They said small amounts of man-made too, not even equal to the weight of a small coin.

 

Can I ask, then, does/would anti-matter react the same with dark matter (the ones that we know are there)? The fact it's matter suggests

it would, so it might just be a redundant question. I suppose it should be: is there anything that doesn't react with anti-matter when it collides? I asked about light energy because it's not matter (in my limited knowledge anyway).

 

 

And thank you for your reply. It helps to have explained in a way that's clear.

 

I'd just like to add that Anti-Matter Matter collusion has been experimented with since the 30's I believe, however mostly in the field of Positron Electron Collusion though, I would love to see more research devoted to non balanced AMM collisions like a Anti Proton with an a electron which would require a super collider of course or more research into a "cold" collusion.

 

 

30s...? How did scientists discover the existence of anti-matter? If it was through radiation bursts, was it/is it present in Corona Mass Eruptions (i.e. in the traces found in ice on Earth)?

[swansont]

Can I ask, then, does/would anti-matter react the same with dark matter (the ones that we know are there)? The fact it's matter suggests

it would, so it might just be a redundant question. I suppose it should be: is there anything that doesn't react with anti-matter when it collides? I asked about light energy because it's not matter (in my limited knowledge anyway).

 

As far as we know, antimatter acts the same gravitationally as matter. That's one of the things being tested by the people creating and trapping atomic antimatter.

 

30s...? How did scientists discover the existence of anti-matter? If it was through radiation bursts, was it/is it present in Corona Mass Eruptions (i.e. in the traces found in ice on Earth)?

 

Positive electrons were first detected in the lab in 1929, using a cloud chamber, and "discovered" a few years later. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Positron#Experimental_clues_and_discovery It was later on that antimatter was postulated and the theory developed that explain why it's created and annihilated.

[Fallen]

Thank you, swansont. That's a cracking link.