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Morning Fix: Matters and Anti-Matters

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Comment by Benny the Icepick on January 11, 2008 at 4:46am: It would be worth paying to watch someone attempt to drink a bottle of anti-matter...

...from about 700 miles away.

Comment by Benny the Icepick on January 11, 2008 at 8:29am: Fascinating. I just picked up "Pale Blue Dot" from the library, and I'm eager to get into it.

Although it was my understanding that when matter comes in contact with its antimatter (e.g. helium and antihelium) the two atoms essentially vaporize and both particles are converted into energy (a la E=mc^2) and various "new" subatomic particles.

I suppose both hypotheses could be true. The amount of energy generated by matter is tremendous and could probably bore a hole through just about anything. Even though antimatter would be nullified on a one-to-one basis, the energy from the collision would push matter out of the way, allowing for Earth's gravitational pull to draw the golf ball further in.

This is all entirely speculation, and I clearly have no idea what I'm talking about, but it's certainly fascinating subject matter.

Comment by Benny the Icepick on January 11, 2008 at 8:30am: Also: who needs antimatter when you have Vogons?

Comment by Dr Dan on January 11, 2008 at 8:41am: I'm no scientist but would not the moon have an effect on the path of this ball of anti-matter, if this ball didn't pass through the earh but instead went into orbit around the earth, would it change the nature of the moon? And what would the presence of the sun have on the path? What container would be able to hold anti-matter for a significant amount of time. Would opening this container be a Metaphorical Pandora’s box? Would it affect the taste of green chili? What if this anti-matter hit a gas giant like saturn?

Comment by Benny the Icepick on January 11, 2008 at 8:59am: // if this ball didn't pass through the earh but instead went into orbit around the earth, would it change the nature of the moon//

Doubtful. That would require a significant amount of mass, and I can't imagine a golf ball of antimatter being dense enough to affect the moon's orbit.

// And what would the presence of the sun have on the path?//
That depends largely on the distance and path of the golf ball. The law of gravity dictates that every speck of matter in the universe attracts every other speck, but the magnitude of that attraction relies on the mass of and distance between both objects.

//What container would be able to hold anti-matter for a significant amount of time//
It's a device called an Antimatter Trap. It suspends the particles in a magnetic field so they don't touch any "normal" matter. The labs that deal with antimatter have a good deal of control in these traps, and regularly release antimatter in a controlled environment to run their experiments.

Black, is that some Lewis Carroll?

Comment by Benny the Icepick on January 11, 2008 at 9:00am: (no, Vogon poetry. I fail)

Comment by Dr Dan on January 11, 2008 at 9:15am: Thanks Benny
It all still very confusing to me, I just can't see this anti-matter targeting earth,it would seem to me that (depending on its path) the sun or the gas giant planets would intercept it in some matter, and if it did hit the earth the moon would play some role. It this "slug" hit Pluto for example, would it move on and destroy every planet one by one

Comment by Dr Dan on January 11, 2008 at 9:32am: Would not the bottle be best made of a hemp glass Vacumn tube (we called it a bong in HS) ?

Comment by akoolstik on January 11, 2008 at 9:43am: this is a very special thread, you people. don't forget your towel!!

Comment by Rocky on January 11, 2008 at 10:25am: The “Comet’s Tail Amber Ale” has certain anatomical connotations that, while humorous in a sophomoric kind of way, could present a subliminal marketing challenge. It would probably best be drunk from a bong….