Physicists create antimatter

[JamesR]

Physicists have succussfuly created anti-hydrogen particles, bringing the concept of antimatter from science fiction into reality.

[KennyR]

From what I heard, the experiment could not be replicated by other researchers - often a good sign of a hoax. But of course antimatter isn't impossible. It's actually very easy to make the particles to build it with - the hard part is trying to stop contact with normal matter, which it mutally annihilates.

I don't see much of a practical use in this, apart from high-energy physics experiments: it takes more energy to produce antimatter than you get from it as a power source, so you can forget the Star Trek "antimatter-powered ships". However, saying that, a few grams of anti-hydrogen can release more energy than the biggest hydrogen bomb, so it can easily be used - and probably will be used - as a weapon of mass destruction. Just what we needed.

Good news is, we are centuries away from being capable of gathering a few grams of it. Which is just as well. The only thing more startling than human ingenuity is human stupidity.

[SlimJim]

It's very interesting that larger amounts of anti-H have been created.
 But the actrual creation of such particles is not new at all (as  is also hinted in the article), Positron - electron pairs are hinted in many reactions. And still we are a long way from the science- fiction use of such particles - they cannot be stored and live generally a very short period of time. For the forseeable future anti-matter is going to remain a mere mathematical and physical curiosity, only interesting to the scientific community.
.
SlimJim

[Argo]

Yup, that's basicly the news here. The creation of a large amount of antimatter atoms (50,000). That's all...

[SlimJim]

From what I heard, the experiment could not be replicated by other researchers - often a good sign of a hoax.

 
'Cold fusion' revisited? ;-)
 
Yet the process described in the article is not that new and/or revolutioneary. The problem is, as always, to interpret what you see...
.
SlimJim

[The_Editor]

I'm actually tempted to believe in cold fusion for the simple reason ... Why should two eminent (but dont ask me who they were) scientists destroy their reputations with a declaration that cold fusion was possible but could not be replicated.   :-o


Something doesn't sound quite right to me.

[chris]

Erm, so are we saying that the AmigaOne is made of anti-matter, and they are having problems creating enough to be able to put it on general release? :-D

Chris

[SlimJim]

I doubt cold fusion was an elaborate hoax on their part. The two scientists, Martin Fleischmann and Stanley Pons, were probably 100% certain of their findings back in '89. But they made the mistake of being too enthusiastic. They didn't go through the proper scientific channels (with painstaking independent controls before publication) but went directly to media. Thus the whole thing blew up in their faces as a huge scandal.
 On the other hand, it wasn't very clever to deny other researchers access to their labs afterwards. Sorts of implies guilt in a way doesn't it?
 
But I must say that I feel sorry for them as it turned out. Chances are (albeit it seems extremely improbable if you know the physics involved) that they were onto something but never got a chance to develop it further because of being over-enthusiastic.
 
Then again, that particular experiment was very simple- and was later extensvely tried by others-  so one should think that someone should have stumbled onto their solution by now...
.
SlimJim

[SlimJim]

Erm, so are we saying that the AmigaOne is made of anti-matter, and they are having problems creating enough to be able to put it on general release?

 
Yes that is what we are saying. Good thing you spotted that one.
:-D
 
(It would be something wouldn't it?)
.
SlimJim

[ikir]

Good news is, we are centuries away from being capable of gathering a few grams of it. Which is just as well. The only thing more startling than human ingenuity is human stupidity.

....... Humans are silly... it's not a news..... :-(

[Quixote]

Good news is, we are centuries away from being capable of gathering a few grams of it.  Which is just as well.  The only thing more startling than human ingenuity is human stupidity.

:roll: Don't be too sure; any physicist will tell you that the two most common elements in the universe are hydrogen and stupidity.

[whabang]

However, saying that, a few grams of anti-hydrogen can release more energy than the biggest hydrogen bomb, so it can easily be used - and probably will be used - as a weapon of mass destruction. Just what we needed.

LOL! :-D
Maybe if we annihilate our selves, we'd do the rest of the universe a big favor. :-)

[cyka_delik]

We won't kill our selves. I'm sure there are other races worse then us. any way it's on step close to the star trek thingy. :-D

[whabang]

I'm sure there are other races worse then us

I doubt that. On the other hand, there is no way for us to know unless you know something I don't...  :-o  :-o  :-o

Elvis has left the building!

[Agafaster]

Fleishmann and Pons were a pair of Chemical Engineers running experiments for a different reason and got some odd Voltage readings - they leapt to the conclusion that energy was being got out of their experiment of a certain order, and went to the press.

big mistake - should have gone and found some physicists and/or tried to verify their results first !
(and that includes setting up the same experiment again from scratch - preferably having someone else do it ! - repeatability :roll: )

however, it did provide the basis for an interesting thought experiment in my A-level class !