The Future of Antimatter:

  More than just an obscure science fiction theory.

-The future of antimatter holds many a challenge for scientists worldwide.

-In proving the Big Bang theory, there are questions as to why the universe is relatively empty of antimatter

What's the Status of Antimatter?

(Microsoft Bookshelf 99)

-If successful, antimatter could be the world's primary energy source in the future.

    -However, there are problems.

    -Antimatter must be produced in stored, in such a way so that it cannot come into contact with matter before it is used

    -Cost is another problem; the production of antimatter is about one nanogram for every ten years a the moment.

    -To produce a milligram, it would cost about $100 trillion.

    -The amound of energy needed to produce antimatter is also a reason as to why it is not a practical energy source at the moment.

    -Even though the matter-antimatter reaction produes a great deal of energy, it is not enough to compensate for the amount of energy needed to produce the antimatter.   

    -"It would be like giving someone a river, so that they could give you a glass of water."

    -Could antimatter be used as rocket fuel in the future?

    -At The Space Research Institute in Stuttgart Germany, is currently attempting to inject antiprotons into a plasma drive to increase the termerature, which could be used to power some space applications.

    -At the same time, a space propulsion system is being designed by Smith of Penn State.

    -The idea is to apply bursts of antiprotons into a fissionable material.

    -The material would increase the temperature to a point where it would ignit a hydrogen fusion burn in a microcapsule, which contains hydrogen gas or liquid at a high pressure.

    -The target yield of this is projected to be 294 GJ

    -Since antimatter is extremely expensive, so it is not a good choice for fuel right now or in the immediate future.

    - Nuclear engine designs are, however, somewhat more realistic.

    -The name concern would be safety.

    -What happens if the rocket fails or explodes?

    -That question plus the risk for environmental hazards from "rocket exhaust" are still trying to be answered by scientists.  Until then, keep reading Star Trek.