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Thread: Matter/Antimatter

  1. 10-24-2008 06:27 PM #1
    [SomeGuy]
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    Matter/Antimatter

    Antimatter makes no sense to me. Matter is anything that has mass and takes up space. How can anything exist that doesn't take up space, besides time and thoughts and energy and stuff?


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  2. 10-24-2008 06:29 PM #2
    spockman
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    I think your a little confused about the properties of anti-matter. It still has mass.

    Look at it this way. A hydrogen atom exists. It takes up so much space and has so much mass/weight. An anti-matter particle takes up the same space and has the same mass/weight and is still in essence hydrogen but with different properties. For example, a proton or positron in anti-matter has a negative charge. That doesn't make it an electron, it is still a positron, (the anti-particle to a proton.)

    When they collide, things go BOOM!
    Last edited by spockman; 10-24-2008 at 06:35 PM.
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  3. 10-24-2008 06:30 PM #3
    [SomeGuy]
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    But, ant- means the opposite. So, it shouldn't have mass...that's what I'm confused about.


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  4. 10-24-2008 06:35 PM #4
    drewmandan
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    Quote Originally Posted by xXSomeGuyXx View Post
    Antimatter makes no sense to me. Matter is anything that has mass and takes up space. How can anything exist that doesn't take up space, besides time and thoughts and energy and stuff?
    Antimatter is simply the set of particles corresponding to the usual particles (in terms of mass and spin) but with opposite charge. So, for example, a positron is an anti-electron and has a positive charge but still positive mass, equal to electron mass.

    Antimatter is short-lived in our universe because it annihilates upon contact with matter. But that doesn't stop it from being created all the time through particle interactions. Ever heard of a PET scan? P stands for positron. The scan works by detecting the radiation released when a radioactive isotope decays, releases a positron, and then the positron annihilates with an electron to form a pair of photons.

    Quote Originally Posted by xXSomeGuyXx View Post
    But, ant- means the opposite. So, it shouldn't have mass...that's what I'm confused about.
    The "anti" means opposite electric charge.
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  5. 10-24-2008 06:39 PM #5
    Howie
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    I think that science is or was confused to why the Universe was compiled of virtually all matter. Thus comprising the theory of anti matter.
    Antimatter I think has particles with a negative charge. Both would seemingly cancel each other out.
    Sorry this is vague and possibly incorrect. It is a bit fuzzy in my head. The crap gets all confusing.




    yaaa what drewmandan said!
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  6. 10-24-2008 06:42 PM #6
    [SomeGuy]
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    Oh, charge. Okay, cool thanks. I did understand that it explodes when it comes in contact with matter. I have a question. I heard that we have a little it of antimatter. How do we hold it? In a vacuum? But then it would fall and touch the container, thus annihilating itself...


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  7. 10-24-2008 06:47 PM #7
    drewmandan
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    Quote Originally Posted by xXSomeGuyXx View Post
    Oh, charge. Okay, cool thanks. I did understand that it explodes when it comes in contact with matter. I have a question. I heard that we have a little it of antimatter. How do we hold it? In a vacuum? But then it would fall and touch the container, thus annihilating itself...
    Well, first let me point out that all anti-matter is charged. Otherwise, it would be neutral, and neutral is the opposite of neutral. Technically, the neutron is its own anti-particle. So anyway, storing antimatter is just a problem of suspending a charged particle in a vacuum without letting it touch anything.

    Well, it turns out this is possible using a Penning Trap, which is an arrangement of electric and magnetic fields which will suspend a charged particle in space.
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penning_trap
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  8. 10-24-2008 06:50 PM #8
    [SomeGuy]
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    Okay. That makes sense. Thanks.


    Holy crap, you know a[space]lot.


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  9. 10-25-2008 08:47 AM #9
    Posquant
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    I'm not a physicist, but ...

    I was surprised to receive a narrative in a particularly vivid dream one night about anti-matter. I didn't get a lot of information, but I clearly heard a voice say something like "as long as the Emperor's anti-matter alliance with the other side is in place ..." This followed a visual of an Indian-looking scientist, discussion and 3-D [computer-graphic?] display of differing "firing patterns" used by the different sides.

    Well. It's not much. But it's nothing I've seen in movies, TV or print, either.

    I wonder if the alliance was for non-proliferation, or supply. I wish the Emperor and his counterparts well.

    Greetings, again, from this Earth...

    Thanks,

    PQ
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