Is there an intermediate material for matter/antimatter?

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In summary: No. The problem if course is that, since neutrons are neutral (not to mention being subatomic particles), you can't get them to stick together to form anything.The magnetic bottle idea is sound, but it would be difficult to create a large enough one.
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some bloke
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following on from the antimatter bomb thread on this forum, I was contemplating other means to cause damage using antimatter, and I was wondering if there was a way to create an explosive charge which contains antimatter suspended in a non-reactive material, and then have it explode outwards, reacting with anything it touches for a conflagration of gamma radiation and cooking anyone inside a vehicle instantly.

I have a limited knowledge of antimatter, but I recall that it requires the particles to meet their corresponding ones for an energy release - EG a positron meeting an electron, or a proton meeting an anti-proton.

Is there such a thing as an anti-neutron, or are they shared between matter & antimatter? Manufacturing techniques aside, if a container was made entirely of neutrons, could it contain antimatter and isolate it from surrounding matter until the detonation/impact? Is there anything which can survive contact with both matter & antimatter?
 
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some bloke said:
if a container was made entirely of neutrons, could it contain antimatter
No. The problem if course is that, since neutrons are neutral (not to mention being subatomic particles), you can't get them to stick together to form anything.

What can be used to contain antimatter is a magnetic bottle.
 
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Hm ... though I had already posted this but somehow didn't hit "post reply" and anyway, Dave has already beat me to it.

There is matter and there is anti-matter. There is no "intermediate" and neutrons and not "neutral" as far as antimatter is concerned. Antiprotons will annihilate with neutrons as will any other antimatter.
 
  • #4
Well there you go - the ultimate weapon, a cannon spewing anti-neutronium bullets, with each teaspoon-sized bullett having a mass of 10 million tons. So if we do the math: 10^7 tons * c^2 = one hellova bad day for anyone on the receiving end
 
  • #5
phinds said:
There is matter and there is anti-matter. There is no "intermediate" and neutrons and not "neutral" as far as antimatter is concerned. Antiprotons will annihilate with neutrons as will any other antimatter.

Ah, there's my misunderstanding. I thought that an antimatter particle had to meet its corresponding matter particle to annihilate (EG proton needs an antiproton). I was speculating that there might be a constituent part of both matter & antimatter which could cope with contact with both. are there anti-particles all the way to the smallest?
 
  • #7
I had a read, and am likely just fuelling my own ignorance at this point, but I made it through the usual link-link-link of Wikipedia and ended up with Baryons & Mesons.

Apparently Mesons are made of a combination of Quarks & Antiquarks, held together with the strong force. Why don't they annihilate with themselves? it does state that they "decay", is this synonymous with self-annihilation in this case?

Do we know what causes the annihilation to occur? This is really piquing my interest in physics again...
 
  • #8
Sorry, you are now beyond my level of knowledge.
 
  • #9
some bloke said:
Is there such a thing as an anti-neutron, or are they shared between matter & antimatter? Manufacturing techniques aside, if a container was made entirely of neutrons, could it contain antimatter and isolate it from surrounding matter until the detonation/impact? Is there anything which can survive contact with both matter & antimatter?

There are such things as the anti-particles of particles that don't have charge. Anti-neutrons and anti-neutrinos have opposite "spin" from neutrons and neutrinos. There aren't any anti-photons, though. Photons are said to be their own anti-particles.
 

1. What is antimatter and why is it important?

Antimatter is a type of matter that is made up of particles with the opposite charge as regular matter. It is important because it helps us understand the fundamental laws of physics and has potential applications in energy production and medical imaging.

2. Can matter and antimatter be combined to create energy?

Yes, when matter and antimatter come into contact, they annihilate each other and release a large amount of energy. This process is currently being studied for potential use in energy production.

3. Is there an intermediate material between matter and antimatter?

Currently, there is no known intermediate material between matter and antimatter. However, scientists are constantly researching and studying the properties of both matter and antimatter to better understand their relationship.

4. How is antimatter created in the lab?

Antimatter can be created in the lab through high-energy particle collisions or through the decay of radioactive elements. However, the amount of antimatter produced is very small and it is difficult to contain and study due to its explosive nature.

5. Can antimatter be used as a source of energy in the future?

While antimatter has the potential to be a powerful source of energy, it is currently not practical for use in large-scale energy production. The process of creating and containing antimatter is extremely expensive and energy-intensive, making it currently unfeasible for widespread use. However, research and advancements in this area are ongoing.

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