Antimatter & matter - chemical reaction ?!

maxie · 2006-10-13 14:13:40

I was astonished to read this:

Antimatter and matter combine in chemical reaction

Mixing antimatter and matter usually has predictably violent consequences – the two annihilate one another in a fierce burst of energy.
But physicists in Geneva have found a new way to make the two combine, at least briefly, into a single substance. This exceptionally unstable stuff, made of protons and antiprotons, is called protonium.

SpaceNut · 2006-10-13 19:54:08

Ok but this is what got me..

The feat of "antichemistry" actually took place back in 2002, but nobody had realised it until now.
It happened in an experiment at the CERN particle physics lab, when both antiprotons and positrons – which have the same mass as electrons but an opposite charge – were put into the same magnetic cage.
Some of them combined to make antihydrogen, which was the original aim of the experiment.

One step closer to antimatter engines Captain warp 1, engage...

Accidents do happen when we least expect them...

publiusr · 2006-10-27 11:45:05

I never would have guessed this to be possible.

noosfractal · 2006-10-27 12:24:09

You can also get

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Positronium

which is an "atom" of a positron (anti-electron) and an electron.

This normally has a lifetime of 100 nanoseconds, but if you cool it down to form a Bose-Einstein Condensate it can last for much longer, maybe years ...

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/6813330.html

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#1 2006-10-13 14:13:40

Re: Antimatter & matter - chemical reaction ?!

#2 2006-10-13 19:54:08

Re: Antimatter & matter - chemical reaction ?!

#3 2006-10-27 11:45:05

Re: Antimatter & matter - chemical reaction ?!

#4 2006-10-27 12:24:09

Re: Antimatter & matter - chemical reaction ?!

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