200,000 years for 1mg of antimatter?

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    Antimatter Years
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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the challenges and feasibility of producing antimatter, specifically addressing the time required to produce 1 milligram of antimatter and the potential for increasing production through the establishment of additional laboratories. The conversation touches on theoretical, practical, and economic aspects of antimatter production.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant notes that even with a fivefold increase in Fermilab's antimatter production, it would still take 200,000 years to produce 1 milligram of antimatter.
  • Another participant suggests that advancements in technology and increased efficiency in production could significantly reduce the time required for antimatter production in the future.
  • It is mentioned that a small amount of antimatter can yield a substantial amount of energy, referencing Einstein's equation E=mc² to illustrate the energy potential of 1 milligram of antimatter.
  • A participant points out that the energy released from matter-antimatter annihilation should account for both the antimatter and the matter involved in the reaction.
  • Concerns are raised about the economic feasibility of building numerous laboratories for antimatter production, with one participant humorously calculating the cost implications of constructing 200,000 labs.
  • Another viewpoint expresses skepticism about the practicality of antimatter as a useful resource due to the immense energy required to produce even a minuscule amount.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing views on the feasibility and practicality of producing antimatter, with some advocating for potential advancements in production methods while others remain skeptical about its usefulness and the economic implications of large-scale production.

Contextual Notes

Participants discuss the limitations of current technology and the economic challenges associated with antimatter production, but do not resolve these issues or reach a consensus on the future of antimatter as a resource.

galoku
Ok, I've just been reading this http://www.cem.msu.edu/~cem181fp/antimatter/antimatter.html and it says that even if Fermilabs increases its production of antimatter to 5 times its current output then it would still take another 200,000 years to get 1 miligram of that stuff...
I know this might sound simple but can't they build lots of labs arround the world where they all produce the same amount of antimatter as the one they have now? that would reduce the amount of time we would have to wait for that darn 1mg, right?
 
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Well, that's with current technology. Remember in those 200,000 years, the world population of scientists wouldn't be exactly just wasting time. That number should fall in time.

Notice that Fermilab isn't a dedicated Antimatter factory, but a laboratory. If we should ever wish to go into full industrial production of the stuff, then we can produce it at far better efficiencies than currently. But for the moment, we don't quite need all that much antimatter.

Remember, a little antimatter goes a long long way.
E = mc^2
= 0.001 * 9 * 10^16
= 90000000000 kJ in 1 miligram

This is equivalent to the amount of energy given out in the complete combustion of 1.6 *10^6 kg of Methane.
 
Oh, and you need to double that because it's matter-antimatter annihliation, turning the reacted matter into energy too.
 
re anti matter

and it costs a lot
 
Originally posted by galoku
I know this might sound simple but can't they build lots of labs arround the world where they all produce the same amount of antimatter as the one they have now? that would reduce the amount of time we would have to wait for that darn 1mg, right?
Certainly, let's build 200,000 labs. Er, wait, if they cost $10 billion apiece (if we use Philadelphia building contractors) that would require the entire next hundred years of the US's GDP.

I don't think anti-matter will ever be a useful thing since it requires such a vast amount of energy to make a quantumitessimal (if that's not a word, it should be) quantity of it.
 

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