- #1
robertjford80
- 388
- 0
This is from Lisa Randall's Knocking on Heaven's Door:
So when particles and antiparticles collide they get converted into pure energy. I've always thought of energy as what causes particles to move, for example, a billiard ball with X joules can transfer that kinetic energy to another billiard ball on collision causing it to move. Correct me if I'm wrong. What happens then to the surrounding area when particles and antiparticles collide and annihilate? Does it cause the particles around them to move?
acceleration is simpler since the same magnetic field can be used to direct protons and antiprotons in opposite directions. But the most important reason has to do with the particles that could be produced.
Particles and antiparticles have equal masses but opposite charges. This means that the incoming particle and antiparticle together carry exactly the same charge as pure energy carries—namely, nothing. According to E = mc^2, this means that a particle and its antiparticle can turn into energy, which can in turn create any other particle and antiparticle together, so long as they are not too heavy and have a strong enough interaction with the initial particle-antiparticle pair.
So when particles and antiparticles collide they get converted into pure energy. I've always thought of energy as what causes particles to move, for example, a billiard ball with X joules can transfer that kinetic energy to another billiard ball on collision causing it to move. Correct me if I'm wrong. What happens then to the surrounding area when particles and antiparticles collide and annihilate? Does it cause the particles around them to move?