The discussion revolves around the nature of energy produced when matter and antimatter collide, specifically focusing on the forms of energy resulting from such annihilation events. Participants explore theoretical implications, potential processes for energy conversion, and the conditions required for these phenomena.
Participants generally agree that high-energy photons result from matter-antimatter annihilation, but there is no consensus on the practicality of reversing the process to create matter from energy, as well as the specific conditions required for such phenomena.
The discussion includes assumptions about the energy levels required for photon interactions and the role of nuclei in the creation of particle pairs, which remain unresolved. The practicality of focusing high-energy photons to achieve the desired outcomes is also uncertain.
This discussion may be of interest to those studying particle physics, energy conversion processes, and the interactions between matter and antimatter.
JesseM said:Your guess is right, when particles annihilate with antiparticles the result is high-energy photons, which have zero mass so they can be said to be "pure energy". here.
gamma ray is just a name for the type of photons emitted (a gamma ray is just a photon with a sufficiently high frequency, see the electromagnetic spectrum), they aren't two different types of particles.Jarfi said:So if electrons and positrons create photons and gamma rays.
A pair of gamma ray photons can spontaneously create an electron/positron pair (see 'reverse reaction'), I don't know how difficult it is to produce photons with such high energy or the probability they will convert in this way if focused at a sufficiently small region or how difficult it would be to actually focus high-energy photons in this way, maybe someone else can address the practicality of this.Jarfi said:Could i reverse the process and focus light/gamma rays in one dot and end up with an electron and positron?