Antimatter Matters
Students explore antimatterCopyright 2006 Denise W. Carlson. Used with permission.
Antimatter, the charge reversed equivalent of matter, has captured the imaginations of science fiction fans for years as a perfectly efficient form of energy. While normal matter consists of atoms with negatively charged electrons orbiting positively charged nuclei, antimatter consists of positively charged positrons orbiting negatively charged anti-nuclei. When antimatter and matter meet, both substances are annihilated, creating massive amounts of energy. Instances in which antimatter is portrayed in science fiction stories (such as Star Trek) are examined, including their purposes (fuel source, weapons, alternate universes) and properties. Students use the associated activity to compare and contrast matter and antimatter, learn how antimatter can be used as a form of energy, and consider potential engineering applications for antimatter.
Scientists and engineers around the world are currently developing antimatter in laboratories. Antimatter is currently the most expensive resource on Earth at $62.5 trillion dollars per gram. However, if antimatter could be produced efficiently in laboratories or harvested from space, it would provide the most efficient energy source available. An antimatter rocket would revolutionize aerospace engineering and space travel because the energy packed into antimatter is about a billion times greater than the energy in ordinary rocket fuel. Antimatter could also provide a clean energy source on Earth. This would likely form a new type of engineering that would focus on antimatter much in the same way that petroleum and nuclear engineers function in today's society.
After this lesson, students should be able to:
- Compare and contrast matter and antimatter.
- Explain how antimatter can be used as a form of energy.
- Describe engineering applications for antimatter.