The Efficiency Problems of Antimatter

Feb 06, 2011 06:26

Scientists claim antimatter is the costliest material to make.

In November 2010, 38 antihydrogen atoms were trapped for about a sixth of a second. The first time that neutral antimatter had been trapped.

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100 billion years to produce 1 gram of antihydrogen.

1 kg of antimatter with 1 kg of matter would produce 1.8×1017 J (180 petajoules) of energy (by the mass-energy equivalence formula E = mc²), or the rough equivalent of 43 megatons of TNT.

In 1999 NASA gave a figure of $62.5 trillion (2009=$80 tril.) per gram of antihydrogen.
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Many experts, however, dispute these claims as being far too optimistic by many orders of magnitude.
And in 2004,
To produce 1 gram of antimatter, CERN would need to spend $100 quadrillion (2009-$112.6 quad.) and run an antimatter factory for 100 billion years.

Assuming a world population of 7 billion, we would have to give over roughly $14.3 (2009-$16.1 mil.) million each to pay for the production of 1 gram of antihydrogen… and wait 100 billion years.

1 gram of antihydrogen being equivalent to 43 kilotons of TNT.

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According to the revised 2004 study, CERN would need $100 quintillion (2009-$112.6 quint.) and 100 trillion years to produce 1 kilogram of antimatter.
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The world would have to shell out about $14.3 billion (2009-$16.1 bil.) each: one lump sum, then wait 100 trillion years
or
wait 1 year with 100 trillion factories. [That’s excluding the cost and space of/for building the factories.]
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But, since the current GWP (Gross World Product) is estimated at c.$75 trillion/year, it would take (assuming no change) c.1,333,333 years for the entire earth to be able to afford such an endeavour.

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Either way, by the time such estimates were paid for and operations completed, many things could have happened. We could have developed more efficient ways of producing antimatter, or we could have discovered an even better method of harnessing energy, or we could all have died. Or who knows what else.

*whimpers* I feel so insignificant, so behind, so... dumb as a species.

Still fun making statistics, regardless.

*hugs*

Akira
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