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What exactly is Anti-Matter

L

Lasting_Pain

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I was reading my school news paper and interesting article caught my eye. It was about Anti-Matter. I am a seeker of knowledge, so I was instantly hooked. The name Anti-Matter reminds me of Star Wars and Mech Anime, but I digress, if it is possible could someone explain to me what exactly is Anti-Matter and what is its capabilities. I tried to research it, but I was unsuccessful, partially because I am not experienced in the field of physics and chemistry and I hardly understand it. So if someone could explain to me Anti-matter in simple terms, I would greatly appreciate it.

(On a side note, I am celebrating my 100th post.)
 

JocktheMotie

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Anti-matter is the opposite of its matter counterpart. A positron has the same mass, yet opposite charge as it's electron. An anti-proton has the same mass, yet the opposite charge as it's proton. All elementary particles has "anti" versions of themselves. When these two pieces of matter collide, they completely annihilate each other, resulting in a perfect mass=>energy conversion in the form of electromagnetic radiation.

Theoretically, you could have an anti-matter brother/sister, named Quickly-Alleviated Pain, and if you tried to shake hands you'd both disintegrate and explode as a burst of light.
 
L

Lasting_Pain

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Anti-matter is the opposite of it's matter counterpart. A positron has the same mass, yet opposite charge as it's electron. An anti-proton has the same mass, yet the opposite charge as it's proton. All elementary particles has "anti" versions of themselves. When these two pieces of matter collide, they completely annihilate each other, resulting in a perfect mass=>energy conversion in the form of electromagnetic radiation.

Theoretically, you could have an anti-matter brother/sister, named Quickly-Alleviated Pain, and if you tried to shake hands you'd both disintegrate and explode as a burst of light.

Wow that is f'in awesome.

Is it possible to create large amounts of anti-matter?
 

JocktheMotie

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Wow that is f'in awesome.

Is it possible to create large amounts of anti-matter?

Not really, I'm not sure anyone has been able to store a large amount yet. The problem is, you "create" antimatter when you collide particles and atoms at near light speeds in a particle accelerator, but since our visible universe is so dominated by regular matter, antimatter collides with matter and annihilates relatively quickly. You can see it in brief moments inside the accelerator, because it moves through the magnetic field in the opposite direction as it's brother.

To store it, you would have to hold it inside a magnetic field vacuum. If you let it touch matter, it annihilates. And there really isn't any practical use for it at this point yet.
 
L

Lasting_Pain

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Not really, I'm not sure anyone has been able to store a large amount yet. The problem is, you "create" antimatter when you collide particles and atoms at near light speeds in a particle accelerator, but since our visible universe is so dominated by regular matter, antimatter collides with matter and annihilates relatively quickly. You can see it in brief moments inside the accelerator, because it moves through the magnetic field in the opposite direction as it's brother.

To store it, you would have to hold it inside a magnetic field vacuum. If you let it touch matter, it annihilates. And there really isn't any practical use for it at this point yet.

Can it be used as a weapon, similar to nuclear energy.
 

BlackCat

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SUPER CAT USED ANTI MATTER BEAM! THE WORLD DIES! YOU WIN!

On a more serious note I've always wondered what Anti-Matter was too, cool.
 

JocktheMotie

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Can it be used as a weapon, similar to nuclear energy.

Yes. While electron-positron annihilations produce gamma radiation [not visible, but lethal. It basically kills your cells, but leaves no nuclear fallout radiation], proton-antiproton annihilations do create particles, however their kinetic and mass energies equal that of the two initial proton-antiprotons.

Antimatter annihilations are more potent than hydrogen bombs, from an energy standpoint. A hydrogen bomb converts .7% of it's mass to energy, while an antimatter bomb would theoretically convert 100% of its mass to energy.
 
L

Lasting_Pain

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Yes. While electron-positron annihilations produce gamma radiation [not visible, but lethal. It basically kills your cells, but leaves no nuclear fallout radiation], proton-antiproton annihilations do create particles, however their kinetic and mass energies equal that of the two initial proton-antiprotons.

Antimatter annihilations are more potent than hydrogen bombs, from an energy standpoint. A hydrogen bomb converts .7% of it's mass to energy, while an antimatter bomb would theoretically convert 100% of its mass to energy.



So I can become the Hulk if exposed to Anti-Matter?
 

Jeremy

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So, on this same tangent, what's the difference between antimatter and dark energy / dark matter? I've never really understood the distinction.. is it a possibility that they're the same thing? If so, then inter-galactic travel would be impossible, since the idea is that dark energy holds the universe together.. we'd explode.

That's sad if its true :(
 

ygolo

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Dark matter and dark energy are hypothesized entities needed to account for observed cosmological phenomenon. So far they seem to me nothing more than accounting tricks (though physicists' accounting tricks regarding mass and energy have long track record of reflecting reality).

Dark matter - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dark energy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The thing about anti-matter that is so interesting is that there is so little of it compared to matter. Why the preference for matter?

One glib answer is that if there were equal amounts of matter and anti-matter, they would keep annahialating each other, and then we wouldn't be around to ask the question (nor continue to call the things we do encounter readily as matter, and their anti-particles as anti-matter). This is a very unsatisfying answer.
 

JocktheMotie

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So I can become the Hulk if exposed to Anti-Matter?

Theoretically, if your cells could survive being inundated with the radiation, and your DNA underwent a rare mutation that would mimic this change, it is possible. But abysmally unlikely. You'd have a better chance of winning the lottery every day for the rest of your life.

So, on this same tangent, what's the difference between antimatter and dark energy / dark matter? I've never really understood the distinction.. is it a possibility that they're the same thing? If so, then inter-galactic travel would be impossible, since the idea is that dark energy holds the universe together.. we'd explode.

That's sad if its true :(

Antimatter and Dark Energy/Matter are not the same. In theory if Dark Matter were to be found, it would also have an antidark matter particle. It is theorized to be a heavy particle, and also an abundant one, as it is supposed to consist of 22% of the universe. Dark Energy is often attributed to be the cause of the universe's increasing rate of expansion, and accounts for 74% of the energy density of the universe. All the stars, galaxies, and light we see from the entire universe makes up 4% of our universe. It is called "dark" because it makes no electromagnetic interaction, nor does it seem to make a strong and weak force interaction, with other particles and energy. It only has gravitational effects.
One glib answer is that if there were equal amounts of matter and anti-matter, they would keep annahialating each other, and then we wouldn't be around to ask the question (nor continue to call the things we do encounter readily as matter, and their anti-particles as anti-matter). This is a very unsatisfying answer.

Yes! I hate the anthropic principle, and all of its cousins, with an absolute passion. If we can't observe it, it doesn't seem like it should be there. There is something terribly wrong with gravity. Its stark contrast from the other 3 forces is something I cannot get over.
 

BlackCat

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So was anti-matter wiped from existence when the big bang occurred?

bigbangtheory.jpg
 

Jeremy

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One glib answer is that if there were equal amounts of matter and anti-matter, they would keep annahialating each other, and then we wouldn't be around to ask the question (nor continue to call the things we do encounter readily as matter, and their anti-particles as anti-matter). This is a very unsatisfying answer.

Hmm.. I'm not a physicist by any means (my spell checker had to spell it for me just now), but could it be that anti-matter is a part of regular matter, but undetectable until you get an imbalance of anti-matter and "normal" matter through certain reactions? And if there is too much anti-matter, it will destroy "normal" matter until the system reaches equilibrium again?

Wow, random theory there. Get to it physicists. Thanks for the clarification of dark matter / energy.
 

ygolo

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Before the theory of antimatter was postulated, Dirac had theorized that we are infact awash in a sea of negative energy electrons that we cannot see. The Pauli exclusion principle would then explain why our normal electrons do not drop into the lower energy state (that state is filled).

One of the implications of this theory is that once in a while the sea of invisible electrons can be excited enough to have one of the invisible electrons jump up to the energy state that we see that electron. When the electron jumps up in energy it will leave a "hole" in the see of electrons that has all the same properties of a positron.

Interestingly, this is analogous to what happens in semiconductors. A valance band of electrons is mostly filled, while the conduction band only has a small number of electrons. When a valance band electron is excited with enough energy to jump to the conduction band, it leaves behind a "hole." These holes are what we circuit designers view as the charge carriers in p-channel transistors.

I kinda like Dirac's idea (extended to all Fermions). What if we are awash in a sea of negative energy Fermions that we cannot see, and that "anti-mater" is comprised of "holes" in this sea when the negative energy Fermions are excited to the positive energy state?

It's appealing to me in that it answers (possibly) two mysteries.

1)Why isn't there equal amounts of matter and anti-matter? Because antimatter is only comprised of "holes" in energy bands that are usually filled.

2)What is this "dark matter"? Perhaps it is the sea of Fermions that we cannot see in the negative energy states.

Of course most practicing physicists know of Dirac's theory so there must be some reason it is not favoured now.

There are a few things I can think that would make this theory unattractive.

1) Perhaps there are some Bosons that have antiparticles that are not themselves (a photon is an anti-photon, for instance). The trouble with Bosons, is that they can be packed into the same energy level without restriction. So if there are negative energy states for these then, we would almost never encounter these Bosons (they would have to be excited to the positive level).

2) There are quantum numbers for antiparticles that don't match the negative energy solutions.

3) The hypothesis violates some other physical law.
 

ProNeon

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In particle physics, antimatter is the extension of the concept of the antiparticle to matter, where antimatter is composed of antiparticles in the same way that normal matter is composed of particles. For example, an antielectron (a positron, an electron with a positive charge) and an antiproton (a proton with a negative charge) could form an antihydrogen atom in the same way that an electron and a proton form a normal matter hydrogen atom. Furthermore, mixing matter and antimatter would lead to the annihilation of both in the same way that mixing antiparticles and particles does, thus giving rise to high-energy photons (gamma rays) or other particle–antiparticle pairs.

There is considerable speculation as to why the observable universe is apparently almost entirely matter, whether there exist other places that are almost entirely antimatter instead, and what might be possible if antimatter could be harnessed, but at this time the apparent asymmetry of matter and antimatter in the visible universe is one of the greatest unsolved problems in physics. The process by which this asymmetry between particles and antiparticles developed is called baryogenesis.
 
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