Antimatter - Page 2

Single Serving Jack · 06-21-2006, 05:36 AM

Ok so what about the potential of antimatter as a power source? Decades or centuries away? Or not feasible at all?

Choobus · 06-21-2006, 05:46 AM

Quote:

Single Serving Jack wrote

Ok so what about the potential of antimatter as a power source? Decades or centuries away? Or not feasible at all?

power source: never. because you have to make it (there are no natural sources of antimatter tha we know of)

however, as a high power density storage system, it might work (such as space propulsion, or weapons)

the fact is, any energy you get from antimatter, you have to pay 10-fold to make the antimatter in the first place, at least.

06-21-2006, 05:53 AM

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Choobus wrote

if the LHC was going to make a black hole it would have done so already.....

I think he may have been comparing the RHIC to the LHC, and I got the black hole myth confused. I didn't know the LHC was functional, I thought it was opening next year.

Quote:

Choobus wrote

http://www.cmr.wsu.edu/keck/science.html

here's something I wrote a few years ago

Thanks, this actually made sense to me. Also the Kid's Corner at the CERN website was helpful.

Choobus · 06-21-2006, 05:56 AM

Quote:

EvelKnievel wrote

Quote:

Choobus wrote

if the LHC was going to make a black hole it would have done so already.....

I think he may have been comparing the RHIC to the LHC, and I got the black hole myth confused. I didn't know the LHC was functional, I thought it was opening next year.

Quote:

Choobus wrote

http://www.cmr.wsu.edu/keck/science.html

here's something I wrote a few years ago

Thanks, this actually made sense to me. Also the Kid's Corner at the CERN website was helpful.

:lol::lol:

06-21-2006, 06:28 AM

So Choob, Antimatter is like a quantum level mirror image of matter, right?

Reverse electrical charge, reverse spin... but still has mass, right?

Now for my question... if an anti-atom absorbs and emits a photon, will it be the same as a photon emited from a 'normal' atom?

Choobus · 06-21-2006, 06:52 AM

Quote:

RenaissanceMan wrote

So Choob, Antimatter is like a quantum level mirror image of matter, right?

Reverse electrical charge, reverse spin... but still has mass, right?

Now for my question... if an anti-atom absorbs and emits a photon, will it be the same as a photon emited from a 'normal' atom?

yes, because photons are their own antiparticles

06-21-2006, 06:59 AM

Here's one for ya:

An old roomate of mine and I were arguing about solid matter passing through solid matter without damage. He thought it was completely impossible and I thought that, if the object was moving fast enough and the atoms where arranged perfectly, it could happen. Not on the first try, maybe not in my lifetime, maybe not in Earth's lifetime; but possible.

Of course, neither one of us knew anything about anything, and we were both in our preferred altered states, but if I recall correctly, I thought I was right. Any chance at all?

Choobus · 06-21-2006, 07:04 AM

Can you phrase the question in less retarded terms? I don't think I understand what you mean.

06-21-2006, 07:13 AM

If you throw a ball at a wall an infinite number of times could it ever make it to the other side without damaging the wall? I know it's stupid, I was just wondering if there actually were any popular theories on the subject.

Single Serving Jack · 06-21-2006, 07:14 AM

Sounds like a question I read somewhere - if atoms are mostly empty space, what stops the atoms in my hand from going past all the atoms in a table top if they don't physically touch? Something to do with the electromagnetic force isn't it? Or maybe one of the nuclear forces. Or not. Ah fuck it I can't remember :D

Choobus · 06-21-2006, 07:45 AM

Quote:

EvelKnievel wrote

If you throw a ball at a wall an infinite number of times could it ever make it to the other side without damaging the wall? I know it's stupid, I was just wondering if there actually were any popular theories on the subject.

if you did it an infinite number of times then it would have a chance to pass through via tunnelling. The probability for a macroscrpic object to tunnel through is tiny, but not zero: somethng like 10E-60 or so (I once calculated the transmission probability of a girl I was hoping to shag passing through a wall in a bar. I was within 30% of the right answer (I did it properly later: at the time it was done on the back of a beer mat). It basically takes longer than the lifetime of the universe.

and no,. I didn't get a shag out of it, which I think is bang out of order.

Choobus · 06-21-2006, 07:46 AM

Quote:

Single Serving Jack wrote

Sounds like a question I read somewhere - if atoms are mostly empty space, what stops the atoms in my hand from going past all the atoms in a table top if they don't physically touch? Something to do with the electromagnetic force isn't it? Or maybe one of the nuclear forces. Or not. Ah fuck it I can't remember :D

Atoms are mostly empty space, but the Coulomb force extends throughout all that empty space, and that is what stops atoms from passing through.

06-21-2006, 08:18 AM

Quote:

Choobus wrote

if you did it an infinite number of times then it would have a chance to pass through via tunnelling. The probability for a macroscrpic object to tunnel through is tiny, but not zero: somethng like 10E-60 or so (I once calculated the transmission probability of a girl I was hoping to shag passing through a wall in a bar. I was within 30% of the right answer (I did it properly later: at the time it was done on the back of a beer mat). It basically takes longer than the lifetime of the universe.

and no,. I didn't get a shag out of it, which I think is bang out of order.

Thanks, if I ever see my ex-roomate again I can tell him Choobus says we would only need to extend the life of the universe to make it happen. That should be easy enough.

Sorry to hear 'bout the prude.

06-21-2006, 08:37 AM

Quote:

Choobus wrote

If there is an asymmetry then all is explained, but so far is looks like matter/antimatter are exactly symmetric. It's a fucking mystery.

You know Salty's going to use this to claim that abiogenesis couldn't have happened and evolution is a myth, right?

I think we need to only discuss these issues in code. Is there some kind of ROT-X we can use?

Like what if the first four letters of each word were expressed by their relationships to the letters of the word anal. For example: anti-matter becomes anzd-zazber.

We could call it ROT-ANAL.

Tenspace · 06-21-2006, 08:42 AM

Quote:

schemanista wrote

Quote:

Choobus wrote

If there is an asymmetry then all is explained, but so far is looks like matter/antimatter are exactly symmetric. It's a fucking mystery.

You know Salty's going to use this to claim that abiogenesis couldn't have happened and evolution is a myth, right?

I think we need to only discuss these issues in code. Is there some kind of ROT-X we can use?

Like what if the first four letters of each word were expressed by their relationships to the letters of the word anal. For example: anti-matter becomes anzd-zazber.

We could call it ROT-ANAL.

Better than ROT-13.