29-05-2013, 11:14 AM
Antimatter Propulsion
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What is an Antimatter?
Antimatter has the same mass but its electrical charges are reversed
it is believed that in the Big Bang equal quantities of matter and antimatter were created
They are literally the mirror images of matter
Origin of Antimatter
In 1930 Paul Dirac discovered that the antimatter should exist
In 1932 Carl Anderson discovered Positron
In 1950 physicist at the Lawrence Radiation laboratory used the Bevatron accelerator to produce antimatter
Principle Behind Antimatter propulsion
Annihilation is the principle behind Antimatter Propulsion
The colliding particles matter and antimatter is converted into radiant energy in the form of gamma rays
The collision between an electron and a anti-electron have a combined rest mass of 1.02 MeV
Gamma rays have a characteristic energy of 0.511 MeV.
Matter-Antimatter Engine
Matter-Antimatter propulsion 100% of the mass of the matter and antimatter is converted into energy
Matter-antimatter reactions are 1,000 times more powerful than the nuclear fission
It has the potential to take us farther with less fuel
Solid core Propulsion system
The antiprotons are used to heat a sold metal core usually tungsten
The tungsten absorbs the gamma rays and pions from the antimatter/matter annihilation and is heated.
The hydrogen gas enters, the tungsten core is cooled while the hydrogen gas is heated and is then expanded through a nozzle to produce thrust .
Plasma Core Antimatter Rocket
Antiprotons are injected to annihilate and heat the plasma.
Heat is rapidly transferred to the propellant
Thrust released out of the vehicle at a very high velocity.
Beam Core Antimatter Rocket
In a beam core, the charged particles of the antiproton annihilation are directly released out.
Charged particles are released out of the vehicle along an axial magnetic field.
Anti-protons are released at a very high velocity near the speed of light
Gas Core Antimatter Rocket
Energy is transferred to liquid/gas propellant directly heated by annihilation gamma rays.
Annihilation occurs in the hydrogen propellant. The charged pions are controlled in magnetic fields and superheat the hydrogen
specific impulse of 2500 secs.
Conclusion
Due to the highest specific impulse of this propulsion we can even achieve the speed of light
we need a reliable method of producing large amount of antimatter.