Antimatter belt around Earth discovered by Pamela craft

[secrets in symmetry]

Some real science from the BBC: Antimatter belt 'surrounds Earth' (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-14405122)



A thin band of antimatter particles called antiprotons enveloping the Earth has been spotted for the first time.

The find, described in Astrophysical Journal Letters, confirms theoretical work that predicted the Earth's magnetic field could trap antimatter.

The team says a small number of antiprotons lie between the Van Allen belts of trapped "normal" matter.

The researchers say there may be enough to implement a scheme using antimatter to fuel future spacecraft.



I must admit to being surprised at this result. I knew Pamela was looking for anti-matter "up there", but I didn't expect them to find the stuff orbiting the Earth!

Star Trek here we come. Beam me up Scotty! :cool:

[Phill]

Cool. Sod building a nuclear reactor in me shed I can build an anti matter reactor. Just need some dilithium crystal ..........ebay here we come.

[secrets in symmetry]

I'm gobsmacked. This could be for real if it's really harvestable.

Do you know anyone with pointy ears?

[orkneycadian]

Who is Pamela Craft when she's at home?

[Phill]

http://forum.caithness.org/customprofilepics/profilepic1217_3.gif

Ta da! Our own Rheggers!!

[ducati]

Makes SERN look pretty silly. They spent about one hundred gerzillion trillion billion quid making about a millionth of a teaspoon of the stuff.

[_Ju_]

Makes SERN look pretty silly. They spent about one hundred gerzillion trillion billion quid making about a millionth of a teaspoon of the stuff.
CERN. Unless there is some obscure way of producing anti-matter in a rocket nozzle.

[weezer 316]

Well we still need to figure out a way to harvest it. Here is my plan.........

Build a harvester
Collect big pool of anti-matter
Fuel rocket to jupiter with it where there is likely 10 billion times* the amount round the earth
Alpha centari here we come!

* - a guess. There will be loads more though seeing as jupiters radiation belts and magentic field and utterly freaking massive

[secrets in symmetry]

http://forum.caithness.org/customprofilepics/profilepic1217_3.gif

Ta da! Our own Rheggers!!Lol! I'd forgotten about that. Will you join our project Rheghead? We're aiming for the stars. :cool:


Makes SERN look pretty silly. They spent about one hundred gerzillion trillion billion quid making about a millionth of a teaspoon of the stuff.
CERN was in the news for making anti-hydrogen. That's hard, whereas making anti-protons is relatively easy.


Well we still need to figure out a way to harvest it. Here is my plan.........

Build a harvester
Collect big pool of anti-matter
Fuel rocket to jupiter with it where there is likely 10 billion times* the amount round the earth
Alpha centari here we come!

* - a guess. There will be loads more though seeing as jupiters radiation belts and magentic field and utterly freaking massive
Yay! That's the spirit Weezer.

I don't know whether you're right about Jupiter, but I like your way of thinking.

[redeyedtreefrog]

Let's be honest, the first thing that's going to be developed with this isn't going to be a rocket, it'll be a big-ass American antimatter bomb.

[weezer 316]

Let's be honest, the first thing that's going to be developed with this isn't going to be a rocket, it'll be a big-ass American antimatter bomb.

Not happening. Too powerful. Far far far to powerful. One accident and they could wipe out half their own country

[weezer 316]

Lol! I'd forgotten about that. Will you join our project Rheghead? We're aiming for the stars. :cool:


CERN was in the news for making anti-hydrogen. That's hard, whereas making anti-protons is relatively easy.


Yay! That's the spirit Weezer.

I don't know whether you're right about Jupiter, but I like your way of thinking.

I really can see there being pretty much unlimited amounts of the stuff there. If Earths radiation belts and magnetic field can trap it in decent quantities, then I suspect Jupiter could be the engine to fuel us forever.

Without a hint of hyperbole, it could be the greatest discovery in human history

[secrets in symmetry]

I really can see there being pretty much unlimited amounts of the stuff there. If Earths radiation belts and magnetic field can trap it in decent quantities, then I suspect Jupiter could be the engine to fuel us forever.

Without a hint of hyperbole, it could be the greatest discovery in human history
Weezy, it seems Jupiter isn't the anti-matter gold mine you might expect. You have to go a wee bit further than Jupiter:



Working through the possibilities in the Solar System, Bickford examined their capabilities at generating antimatter. And here’s where the surprise comes in. You would think that Jupiter would be the gold mine of antiproton production, given its size and field strength, but it turns out that the magnetic field actually shields the Jovian atmosphere from the GCR production process, lowering its effect. If you want better antiproton production, go to Saturn, where a larger flux reaches the atmosphere and, as Bickford notes, “…the antineutrons that are copiously produced in the rings do not have to be backscattered to yield stable trapping.”

But here’s another surprise: “…the highest flux is actually found around Earth where the relatively slow radial transport in the magnetosphere produces long residence times, which allow the antiproton trap to fill over a period of years.” So Earth’s radiation belts give us our most intense localized source of antiprotons, while the greatest total supply of antiprotons is the magnetosphere of Saturn. In fact, reactions in Saturn’s rings inject almost 250 micrograms per year into the planet’s magnetosphere.


See Finding Antimatter in the Solar System (http://www.centauri-dreams.org/?p=1567)

[golach]

Not sure about all the posts on Antimatter.....has that anything to do with Dissnaematter?

[secrets in symmetry]

No, Disneymatter is a Mickey Mouse topic.

[weezer 316]

Weezy, it seems Jupiter isn't the anti-matter gold mine you might expect. You have to go a wee bit further than Jupiter:


Working through the possibilities in the Solar System, Bickford examined their capabilities at generating antimatter. And here’s where the surprise comes in. You would think that Jupiter would be the gold mine of antiproton production, given its size and field strength, but it turns out that the magnetic field actually shields the Jovian atmosphere from the GCR production process, lowering its effect. If you want better antiproton production, go to Saturn, where a larger flux reaches the atmosphere and, as Bickford notes, “…the antineutrons that are copiously produced in the rings do not have to be backscattered to yield stable trapping.”

But here’s another surprise: “…the highest flux is actually found around Earth where the relatively slow radial transport in the magnetosphere produces long residence times, which allow the antiproton trap to fill over a period of years.” So Earth’s radiation belts give us our most intense localized source of antiprotons, while the greatest total supply of antiprotons is the magnetosphere of Saturn. In fact, reactions in Saturn’s rings inject almost 250 micrograms per year into the planet’s magnetosphere.


See Finding Antimatter in the Solar System (http://www.centauri-dreams.org/?p=1567)

Fascinating stuff! Well lets be honest, if we could trap the stuff then the probably biggest obstacle after the distances invovled in space travel would be all but removed as we would have a power source that would be extremely lightweight and hyper efficient. In that respect operating around saturn would be far easier than it would be at present.

As for where we g from here, we need to trap it first, then we need to turn it into a propellant, and then we need an engine capable of controlled use of the stuff. Once we do that then I suspect we truly can look at getting a spacecraft to Alpha centuari or possibly even further afield, like gliese 581 or barnards star.

Might even see it in my lifetime!

[ducati]

Fascinating stuff! Well lets be honest, if we could trap the stuff then the probably biggest obstacle after the distances invovled in space travel would be all but removed as we would have a power source that would be extremely lightweight and hyper efficient. In that respect operating around saturn would be far easier than it would be at present.

As for where we g from here, we need to trap it first, then we need to turn it into a propellant, and then we need an engine capable of controlled use of the stuff. Once we do that then I suspect we truly can look at getting a spacecraft to Alpha centuari or possibly even further afield, like gliese 581 or barnards star.

Might even see it in my lifetime!

Hope not in my lifetime. I'm 'seeing' a loud report from the vicinity of Saturn, then the Solar system consumed in a fireball :eek:

[Saveman]

Perhaps there's a very good reason why there is antimatter around the Earth. Maybe harvesting it would be a mistake......just a thought...... :)

[weezer 316]

Hope not in my lifetime. I'm 'seeing' a loud report from the vicinity of Saturn, then the Solar system consumed in a fireball :eek:

A distinct possibility, although quite how much antimatter it would take to consume the solar system in an explosion would be something like perhaps and earth size volume

[secrets in symmetry]

The quantities of anti-matter orbiting planets is miniscule compared to the size of any planet, and indeed miniscule compared to any everyday object, so there's no danger to the solar system.

I must admit that I have no idea how an anti-matter propulsion system would work, but I imagine many people have thought about it carefully. Not only do you have to make sure the engine doesn't destroy the space vehicle, but you also have to work out how to direct the "exhaust gases" to make the vehicle move in the desired direction.