🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <Jan08.193145.59326@yuma.ACNS.ColoState.EDU>, wallacen@ColoState.EDU (nathan wallace) writes:
> There is yet another interesting book out there, called "Mirror Matter"
> by Dr. Robert L. Forward, another far-thinker in this area. He has
> worked with DOD and other interested parties on antimatter 

Quite true.

> as a
> *practical* energy source right now. 
   ^^^^^^^^^                ^^^^^ ^^^
This is hard to believe.           So is this.

Originally we were discussing the design of high-performance
interstellar propulsion systems, on a multi-century timescale where
antimatter may be competitive with other methods.  The short-term
prospects for it are pretty dismal.

> More interestingly to me, he mentioned that DOD is in the process
> of building an accelerator solely for the purpose of generating
> AM for use in space projects, both as fuel and for research purposes.

Vaporware-- unless it's secret, which I very much doubt.

> Presumably the "cold" AP mentioned in the recent Sci Am article would
> be part of such a system.

The U. of Washington ion traps are suitable for keeping only small
numbers of antiprotons, or other charged particles, so far as I know.

 
> Reality Check:
> We have never actually made antimatter. We have made anti-particles,
> but as yet they have never been cold enough to try to get them to
> link up into matter. Supposedly this experiment is intended in the
> relatively near future; perhaps Bill Higgins could comment on this.

Well, I would apply the word "antimatter" to any antiparticle, but I
understand what you mean:  matter made of neutral anti-atoms has not
been fabricated.  H. Poth and collaborators have done work on
antiprotonic atoms, where a negative antiproton orbits a positive
nucleus for a short time (it's a nice probe of nuclear physics).  They
would like to make antihydrogen (positron plus antiproton), but as far
as I know they haven't managed it yet.  My reference is a 1988
workshop proceedings, so I may be out of date.  If somebody is
planning to do this, it's certainly at CERN's Low Energy Antiproton
Ring, where the action is in this field.  Fermilab has no facilities
for work with "cold" antiprotons.

Bill Higgins, Beam Jockey         | "I'm gonna keep on writing songs
Fermilab                          | until I write the song
Bitnet:      HIGGINS@FNAL.BITNET  | that makes the guys in Detroit
Internet:  HIGGINS@FNAL.FNAL.GOV  | who draw the cars
SPAN/Hepnet:      43011::HIGGINS  | put tailfins on 'em again."
                                            --John Prine