48 replies to this topic

[gameratheart]

I don't know how long ago it was discovered, but scientists recently have got into a lot of research about antimatter. For those of you who don't know, antimatter is a type of molecule that has the opposite properties of matter, which everything is made up of. Antimatter is powerful, but also dangerous, as it causes an explosion when it comes into contact with matter, and will cause complete annihilation of both objects, and the explosion emits a dangerous type of radiation.

Anyway, scientists have proved that it's possible to channel the explosion made by antimatter into a certain shape, making it possible to be used as thrust for a spaceship. But they have a problem, because there is no way to store antimatter safely inside a ship, as the moment it came into contact with matter, it would destroy it.

My idea is, what if the antimatter could be suspended in the air in a container? My idea is to make a cylinderical container with fans lining it in every direction. The fans are powerful enough to keep the antimatter away from them, but weak enough to not push it very far. The idea is that the combined force of all these fans will make the antimatter unable to move far without being bounced back in the opposite direction. In this way, the antimatter could be suspended in the air inside the container. This means it would not come into contact with the matter, and is therefore controlled.

What do you think? Do you think it's a crazy idea, or is there some intelligence to it? The major concern in my idea is the air itself, to be honest. Would it work?

Edited by NDPA, 14 October 2006 - 12:41 AM.

[matak]

NDPA, on Oct 14 2006, 12:23 AM, said:

My idea is, what if the antimatter could be suspended in the air in a container? My idea is to make a cylinderical container with fans lining it in every direction. The fans are powerful enough to keep the antimatter away from them, but weak enough to not push it very far. The idea is that the combined force of all these fans will make the antimatter unable to move far without being bounced back in the opposite direction. In this way, the antimatter could be suspended in the air inside the container. This means it would not come into contact with the matter, and is therefore controlled.

What do you think air is made of, matter or antimatter?

[gameratheart]

I was just beginning to think that, matak. I thoght it was a clever idea at the time, but now that I look it over, I realise it is quite illogical.

[matak]

well i think the point of matter and antimatter is quite strange.
the first thing i would think about all of that would be to distinguish boundary between one and the other.
basicly the catch is to know where matter ends and antimatter begins?
did you read anything about that?

[Saint_Michael]

I think it would be impossible because how would you control the gaps in between each fan, it won't take much for one to stray off and BOOM! Because 1 the fans will already consist of matter already since it is a physical object.

It would be impossible to contain it even if their was some way to put it within a lasrer grid to prevent it from getting out. Or some sort of physical container.

[biscuitrat]

Wasn't this sort of thing referenced in Angels and Demons? It's not like people haven't thought of it, but the implications of having completely reversed matter in a world of normal matter are sorta wonky. Actually being able to find, create, contain, or otherwise work with antimatter would sort of prove that everything has a balance - black holes have white holes, parallel universes might be possible.

But then again, I just have the workings of a conspiracy theorist.

[DarkPsycho]

yes this is in angels and demons, and i'm pretty sure that what they said in the book would work. A vacuumed container (absolutely empty of anything, including air, a vacuum is nothing) that is magnetised on all sides so that the anti-matter gets pushed away from all of the container's sides and is suspended in the middle.

and that fan idea, air is made of matter....so the anti-matter and matter (air) would annhialate.

[Saint_Michael]

Im trying to figure out how they would be able to ignite the matter/antine engine without blowing it up. I would ponder a guess that heat would just make it worse. Although that does bring up a futurama epsiode using anti-matter droppings from nibble to fire up the engine and what not.

[shadowx]

to me the whole idea of antimatter is either stupid or very confusing. Matter is something right? and the oposite of something is nothing. so the opposite of matter is nothing = vaccum in which case anti matter is just a creation of a scientists mind. I mean no-one has seen it, seen an anhialation or anything. only anomolies on a scan of the universe i belive?

but if it does exsists then i would also agree that that the magnet idea would work unless of course it has no magnetic fields in which case magnets wouldnt work. And technically light is made of photons which are surely matter, in which case lasers or any other kind of light container wouldnt work either.

[DarkPsycho]

well anti-matter isn't really the opposite of matter...

Quote

anti-matter: substance composed of subatomic particles that have the mass, electric charge, and magnetic moment of the electrons, protons, and neutrons of ordinary matter but for which the electric charge and magnetic moment are opposite in sign. The antimatter particles corresponding to electrons, protons, and neutrons are called positrons (e+), antiprotons (p), and antineutrons