Matter + Antimatter = Positronium !?!?

This is the weirdest discovery I've ever read about period. I didn't think this was possible...

Researchers at the University of California, Riverside have said they have detected the telltale signs of a Hydrogen like molecule called positronium. The catch is in place of Proton is a Positron which has the same positive charge as a Proton but has the same mass as an electron.

www.nature.com...

Unnatural union

Just as hydrogen atoms will combine to form two-atom molecules, so it should be possible in theory to unite two positronium atoms to form a molecule, which would be written as Ps2.

But positronium does not exist naturally, because matter and antimatter annihilate one another when they meet, releasing a burst of energy. When a positron and electron are combined artificially to create a positronium atom, as was first done in 1951(ref. 2), it quickly self-destructs, emitting energy as a gamma ray.

Because positronium is so unstable, it is hard to make a positronium gas dense enough for the atoms to link together. Still, Mills and colleagues think they may now have found a way, and suspect they have seen a hint that positronium molecules existed briefly before self-destructing.

Okay so it didn't last so long(100 nanoseconds to be precise), but the prospects of making a stable form of Positronium will have immense immplications.

[edit on 23-11-2005 by sardion2000]

[edit on 23-11-2005 by sardion2000]

Excellent! A new PS2.

Perhaps the positronium will last longer if they use Mirror Matter positronium instead of anti-matter?

Just a thought.

what huge implications would it have? Im not really seeing any

yeah, I agree, I'm not seeing anything special happening here. I know antimatter is immensely powerful but does that tie into this?

Perhaps as some type of weapon? IF they can produce Ps2 gas and keep it stable (how they stabilize it I have no idea) they could then send it on its merry way until it reaches it's target, then remove whatever is the stabilizing element and voila, antimatter bomb! Perhaps the large energy release could be harnessed for some type of propulsion? I don't know, it would be nice if they were more specific in the article.

Originally posted by truttseeker
yeah, I agree, I'm not seeing anything special happening here. I know antimatter is immensely powerful but does that tie into this?

A Positron has the weight of an Electron with the same Positive Charge as a Proton. Think about that for a second.

Anyone in the know, what woudl the weight difference be between Positronium and Hydrogen? I know it's a HUGE IF when talking about getting this stable so with that in mind post away.

[edit on 24-11-2005 by sardion2000]

The mass of an electron is 9.1093897E-31 kg.
The mass of a proton is 1.6726231E-27 kg.

So if you replaced the proton of a Hydrogen atom with a positron the "positronium" atom would way 1/1000th of what the hydrogen atom weighed.

ADDITIONAL COMMENT: If you take the proton's mass in comparison to the electron's, it's the equivalent of the electron being a 16,726 lb object. So when you add the electron's mass in, it's like adding about 10 more pounds to that. If you replace the proton with a positron you are going from an object of 16,735 lb total mass, to an object of about 18 lb total mass.

That puts it in better perspective.

Corrected numbers.

[edit on 11-24-2005 by Valhall]

Why is it always weapons with you guys!

"Hey someone just made hydrogen powered engines, hey we could make a bomb with that tech!"

"oh wow magnets three times as powerful, oh we could make a gun out of those!"

Lol what about a fuel source!?

Well, I personally don't see the implications, which I am figuring are great, I'm wondering about something.

What effect would positronium gas have on a prson if they breathed it, saying it did'nt blow them apart in a colossal annihliation explosion?

No question there at all im afraid.....IT WOULD blow you apart. Antimatter and matter DO annihilate each other. End of story. sorry

Well, yes it would blow you apart, but what effect would it have on a person who breathed it in, if it, for some uknown reason did'nt blow up.

Just hypothesizing.

[edit on 26-11-2005 by magnito_student]

Originally posted by Shadow88
No question there at all im afraid.....IT WOULD blow you apart. Antimatter and matter DO annihilate each other. End of story.

sorry

If that were always the case Ps2 wouldn't last even 1 nanosecond methinks. I do believe Quantum Engineering is possible just way beyond us(in practicality) at this time.

Originally posted by sardion2000

Originally posted by Shadow88
No question there at all im afraid.....IT WOULD blow you apart. Antimatter and matter DO annihilate each other. End of story.

sorry

If that were always the case Ps2 wouldn't last even 1 nanosecond methinks. I do believe Quantum Engineering is possible just way beyond us(in practicality) at this time.

That's easy! We just need a really small hammer... A really small screwdriver... And an electronic de-bigulation machine!

Just kidding. Quantum Engineering is posible but we need to find some way to finely manipulate the various subatomic particles so that they fuse to make an atom.

Hey, if we fused an atom instead of blowing it up (Nuclear fusion instead of fission) it would create a whole lot more energy, right? So we don't need to figure out ways of FORCING atoms together we need to figure out how they bond. Then we can start some atomic engineering and fusion!

Wow. I just made a conclusion thats probably been made by everyone on this server.