creating an anti-matter engine with currnet technology is it possible?

could we build one? Could we make a flying disc and at centre and on outside roundness put an atom smasher machine that could be in production smashing atoms non stop, cause we have those machines that smash atoms in those round tubes that shoot round and round to light speed i think, why can we not build one around a flying disc and harness the power produced?

What the hell is the obsession with the discs?

They've tried that, as far as our technology goes, discs are never better.

It is possible for us to do, it would just take us 30-40 years to build it, and it would all be untested and virtually unusable, not to mention so inefficient it is just plain better to go in the Shuttle. With all expenses, research, and development of new building methods etc.. we could build a ship that works off that principle in about 300 years that could still be crap, and that's with full immediate funding.. At the moment, we'll be happy to wait and see is 'hyperdrive' falls into our laps, like superstrings.

Originally posted by blobby
could we build one? Could we make a flying disc and at centre and on outside roundness put an atom smasher machine that could be in production smashing atoms non stop, cause we have those machines that smash atoms in those round tubes that shoot round and round to light speed i think, why can we not build one around a flying disc and harness the power produced?

I think you are refering to a particle accelerator. Am I correct? If I am, what is your general idea of how an atom smasher works in one of these buildings?

no idea at all how one would work in the building, i am talking off the top my head idea that i thought of.

Also disc are not useless they would travle vaccum of space very efficently due to its shape.

It's inefficient to first make antimatter by 'smashing' other particles together and the making the antimatter annihilate with matter to get your energy back. What I mean is, you already have the energy, why waste it converting it twice with loss instead of using it directly?

Originally posted by blobby
could we build one? Could we make a flying disc and at centre and on outside roundness put an atom smasher machine that could be in production smashing atoms non stop, cause we have those machines that smash atoms in those round tubes that shoot round and round to light speed i think, why can we not build one around a flying disc and harness the power produced?

short answer: "no."

The "machines that smash atoms in those round tubes" need to be 1/4th mile long or longer (you're talking about a particle accelerator.)

And we can only create antimatter in small quantities. The amount of energy needed is huge.

If you would like to see how MASSIVE a particle accelerator is, you should visit this website. Really good info, PLUS, you would be at the home of the place that invented the World Wide Web

public.web.cern.ch...

I've thought much on this. I'd simply place a space station next to a dark matter source. Harness it's dark energy with lightening rods to power a mega particle beam.

Then I'd point that beam in the direction i wanted to travel right after i put a manned vessel, a pod much like a bullet in a chamber directly in front of the particle beams path. This pod would contain another dark energy power plant for operating the next leap for man kind.

You see, the beam would be the energy that drives the vessel at light speed. Yes, it would be manned and have it's own power system's. The system's can draw energy off the particle beam to power up electromagnets that would apply a force opposite that of the particle beams force on an inner pod that is suspended within the outer pod.

So what you have is a pod floating within another pod and no matter the force of G's that the outer pods speed produces the inner pod feeds off the particle beams energy to counter the G's that would normally effect life forms.

That's how I'd travel long distance. Wouldn't have any maneuverability but you may get where no man's gone before.

reply to post by blobby


I am impressed with authoring on Warp Engines, but would like to offer an alternative of what I see as a dark matter engine - Dark Matter Engine .

It is conceptual, and does not assume warping, light speed or otherwise. It it summerized as follows -

"To create and manipulate a Black Body Radiator within a chamber in order to create propulsion from directing its radiation. Within the engine's chamber, a heating element ( based on design ) is used with the absolute cold of space. This is to create the black body radiator within the chamber. The radiation from the radiator is to be compressed and directed magnetically to faciliate a direction of heat flow of the heating element. In creating a difference of a low and high pressure space, overcoming inertia is achieved for the engine. "

The bottom line is, that I see it as do-able !

Regards,

Orion -

It seems that NASA is talking very seriously of the process so maybe someday we will have massive starships.

New Antimatter Engine Design

A team of scientists is currently working with NASA to develop a new form of space propulsion technology based on positrons. This revolutionary antimatter engine will require only a few milligrams of positrons to send a spaceship to Mars. Facing many hurdles along the way, this is the first time some of the real problems of building a real antimatter engine are being confronted.

New and Improved Antimatter Spaceship for Mars Missions

Most self-respecting starships in science fiction stories use antimatter as fuel for a good reason – it’s the most potent fuel known. While tons of chemical fuel are needed to propel a human mission to Mars, just tens of milligrams of antimatter will do (a milligram is about one-thousandth the weight of a piece of the original M&M candy).

[edit on 15-1-2009 by SLAYER69]