Antimatter

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Antimatter
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What is Antimatter?

• You cannot define antimatter without the speaking
  of matter.
• Antimatter is equal and opposite to matter.
• Since the universe is composed of electrons,
  protons, and neutrons, physicists think
  antimatter is composed of anti-electrons, called
  positrons, antiprotons, and antineutrons.
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Opposite Electric Charge?

• These positrons, and antiprotons have an opposite
  electric charge compared to the normal electrons
  and protons. 
• Their quantum numbers positron(1) and
  antiproton(-1)

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Annihilation!

• If antimatter and matter were to collide, the
  quantum numbers would add to zero.  The matter
  and antimatter would annihilate.

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Where is all the Antimatter?

• If matter and antimatter are equal and opposite,
  then why is our universe composed mainly of
  matter?
• If antimatter does exist in large amounts we
  would know about the large amount of energy being
  created when they annihilate.

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It Exists!

• Antimatter does exist in our environment. 
• Radiation and fusion processes in the sun produce
  positrons. 
• The antimatter particles dont last long at all. 
  
• As soon as a positron meets an electron, they
  annihilate.

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Trapped Antimatter?

• Antimatter can be trapped and even created in
  particle accelerator labs.
• In Europe, CERN, a particle accelerator lab
  trapped and stored antimatter for weeks at a
  time.

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It Costs Too Much!

• Antimatter costs an outrageous amount to create. 
  
• To create one milligram of antimatter, it costs
  an estimated one hundred billion dollars. 

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Technology

• With todays technology, antimatter is being
  considered for medical, and rocket propulsion
  purposes.

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Antimatter Propelled Spaceship

• NASA is exploring ways to use antimatter to
  propel future spacecraft.  A Penn State artist
  drew this design for an antimatter propelled
  spaceship.

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High Energy Antimatter Telescope

• HEAT is another use for antimatter.  This project
  is a NASA program that uses a high-altitude
  balloon-borne experiment to study antimatter.
• The telescope is configured to detect high-energy
  primary electrons and their opposites, the
  positrons.

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Medical Uses

• Antimatter is currently being used for medical
  purposes also. 
• The PET, or Positron Emissions Tomography, helps
  to  identify different diseases by the use of
  antimatter.

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Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer

• This is the new Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer
  (AMS)  to be installed on the International Space
  Station in 2002 or 2003.

• This AMS is designed to look for heavy antimatter
  -- anti-helium nuclei or anti-carbon's, that may
  come enter our solar system from far away
  antimatter galaxies.

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This presentation brought to you by

• Jim Cooper