Antimatter and Propulsion

Why we should use Antimatter in Propulsion.ByNicholas Meyer

IT IS SOOOOOOO NOT A WASTE OF OUR TIME!!!!!!

The IssueThere are 4 main points of skepticism among the science community.1.We cannot generate enough antimatter to use in propulsion.2.Our facilities cannot generate enough antimatter for propulsion.3.It cannot have any use because of the limited quantities.

What is Antimatter?Antimatter is the opposite of matter.In other words, each particle has its own antiparticle.If antimatter touches regular matter, then

BOOM!!!

Why use Antimatter in Propulsion?1 kg of Antimatter reacts with 1 kg of matter will generate reactions equivalent to 43 megatons of TNT.Antimatter release all of its energy compared to fission which only releases 3%of its energy.This is the reason why Fission bomb was inefficient.

Normal ParticleChargeAntiparticleChargeElectronNegativeAntielectron (Positron)Positive chargeProtonPositive ChargeAntiprotonNegative chargeNeutron NeutralAntineutronNeutral

Misconception Number 1People believe that antimatter is impossible to use because of quantity limitations.People believe that all propulsion concepts run on antimatter like star treks warp core.The realistic concepts run on Anti-proton catalyzed microfission/fusion.

What is Antproton-Catalyzed Microfission/Fusion?ACMF utilizes Antiprotons in order to initiate fission.This will allow fission to initiate fusion which will create thrust .Basically it uses a similar process to the Hydrogen bomb.

This is the unmanned AIMSTAR designed by Penn State University which uses AMCF8Who Cares!!!A single gram of antiprotons would have yield a cost of $ 62.5 trillion dollars. By using AMCF, we only need 140 nanograms inorder to go to Mars.There are 1,000,000 nanograms in a gram.This is very significant reduction in the amount of Antimatter we need.Misconception 2Some Scientist believe that our facilities cannot produce the required amount of antiprotons.However, We see current facilities improving antimatter production.

FermilabFermilab is located Batavia which is near Chicago , IllinoisThe Lab was founded in 1967.

Fermilab acceleratorIt is the worlds second largest particle accelerator. (next to CERN laboratory located in Geneva, Switzerland).

While Fermilab cannot produce the needed amounts yet,They had made improvements to their production facilities.

New Main Reactor InjectorFermilab has added a new main reactor It delivers protons for antiproton production.It accelerates protons.It accelerates antiprotons coming from the antiproton source. This new injector brings antimatter production up to 14 ng by the next year.

The New Recycle RingA new recycle ring was also contructed.It brought Antiproton production up to 100ng rangeAfter these improvements are made, The production cost would be as high as $60 million.This is huge price reduction!!!

Misconception 3We see proof in medical field.Antimatter is used in what is known as Positron Emission Tomography.

What PET Does Do?Medical technicians create fluorodeoxyglucose or FDG for short.They attach the flourine to glucose.They cause the flourine to decay to produce positrons.

What Does Pet Do? Part 2The FDG will be injected into the patient.The glucose will be absorbed by the tumors and organs.The positrons will react with the electrons in the tumors.This will give off gamma rays which will be caught by the detector .PET scans can detect cancer in its early stages.

ConclusionWe see have seen that new engine concept reduce the amount of antimatter.We see that facilities have increased production capabilitiesWe have seen uses in the medical field.

My OpinionI think that we should continue to research antimatter as method of propulsion because we have made tremendous jumps in antimatter production.We have also seen how beneficial antimatter is

THE END