1. 1. Antimatter or contra-terrene matter is matter that is composed of the antiparticles of those that constitute normal matter. If a particle and its antiparticle come in contact with each other, the two annihilate and produce a burst of energy, which results in the production of other particles and antiparticles or electromagnetic radiation. In these reactions, rest mass is not conserved, although (as in any other reaction) energy is conserved
2. 2. In 1928 Paul Dirac developed a relativistic equation for the electron, now known as the Dirac equation. Curiously, the equation was found to have negative energy solutions in addition to the normal positive ones. This presented a problem, As a way of getting around this, Dirac proposed that the vacuum can be considered a "sea" of negative energy, the Dirac sea. Any electrons would therefore have to sit on top of the sea.
3. 3. Thinking further, Dirac found that a "hole" in the sea would have a positive charge. At first he thought that this was the proton, but Hermann Weyl pointed out the hole should have the same mass as the electron. The existence of this particle, the positron, was confirmed experimentally in 1932 by Carl D. Anderson.
4. 4. Today's standard model shows that every particle has an antiparticle. The positron has the opposite charge but the same mass as the electron. An atom of anti-hydrogen is composed of a negatively-charged antiproton being orbited by a positively-charged positron.
5. 5. Particles of most atoms are accelerated to very high speeds The particles are aimed and allowed to impact on a target (tungsten) The kinetic energy caused by acceleration is converted into gamma radiation, positrons and antiprotons (4)
6. 6. Antimatter is the most expensive substance on earth (6) 62.5 trillion U.S. dollars per gram a year (6)
7. 7. Antiprotons can be controlled in magnetic fields (4) One method for antiproton storage is the Penning Trap Super cold, vacuumed, electromagnetic bottle in which charged particles of antimatter can be suspended (4) Capacity = 1 x 1010 antiprotons/week (4) Developers believe that 1 x 1020 antiprotons must be stored
8. 8. Matter comes in contact with antimatter They annihilate each other This annihilation creates very large amounts of energy Energy Produced = 9 x 1016 J/Kg (4) This energy has the highest energy density of all known propellants Ten billion times more energy then hydrogen/oxygen (4) 300 times the fusion reaction at suns core
9. 9. Scientists and Physicists want to harness this created energy Proton-Antiproton reaction can be controlled by magnetism Beam Core - Direct one to one annihilation, magnetic fields focus the energetic charged pions that are used directly as the exhausted propellant mass. These pions travel close to speed of light so the specific impulse could be greater than 10,000,000 seconds
10. 10. Dirac himself was the first to consider the existence of antimatter in an astronomical scale. But it was only after the confirmation of his theory, with the discovery of the positron, antiproton and antineutron that real speculation began on the possible existence of an anti- universe.
11. 11. It was found that a particular heavy unstable particle, which is its own antiparticle, decays slightly more often to positrons (e+) than to electrons (e-). How this accounts for the preponderance of matter over antimatter has not been completely explained.
12. 12. After Dirac, the sci-fi writers had a field day with visions of anti-worlds, anti-stars and anti-universes, all made of antimatter, and it is still a common plot device, however suppositions of the existence a coeval, antimatter duplicate of this universe are not taken seriously in modern cosmology
13. 13. 8/4/2015 15 Antiproton Cancer Therapy As in the case of proton cancer therapy, a 250 MeV antiproton beam is needed. Because of the feature of PET isotope generation, it is proposed to treat patients positioned inside a PET scanner. Hypothesis: For a 10cc tumor, approximately 1010 antiprotons are required for induction of apoptosis (programmed cell death). If one only targets patients who cannot be treated by conventional methods, the number of potential U.S. customers is 550,000/year.
14. 14. 8/4/2015 16 Soon-to-be-Available Tool Picture of the NASA HiPAT Penning trap This magnetic bottle was designed for the storage and transportation of 1012 antiprotons.