Antimatter weapon
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An antimatter weapon is a theoretically possible device using antimatter as a power source, a propellant, or an explosive for a weapon. Antimatter weapons are currently too costly and unreliable to be viable in warfare, as producing antimatter is enormously expensive (estimated at $6 billion for every 100 nanograms), the quantities of antimatter generated are very small, and current technology has great difficulty containing antimatter, which annihilates upon touching ordinary matter.[1]
The paramount advantage of such a theoretical weapon is that antimatter and matter collisions result in the entire sum of their
Cost
As of 2004[update], the cost of producing one millionth of a gram of antimatter was estimated at US $60 billion.[1] By way of comparison, the cost of the Manhattan Project (to produce the first atomic bomb) is estimated at US$23 billion in 2007 prices.[4] As such, Hui Chen of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory dismissed concerns about antimatter bombs in 2008 as "unrealistic".[5]
Antimatter catalyzed weapons
Antimatter-catalyzed nuclear pulse propulsion proposes the use of antimatter as a "trigger"[6] to initiate small nuclear explosions; the explosions provide thrust to a spacecraft. The same technology could theoretically be used to make very small and possibly "fission-free" (very low nuclear fallout) weapons (see pure fusion weapon).[7][8]
In popular culture
An antimatter weapon is a part of the plot of the Dan Brown book Angels & Demons and its film adaptation, where it is used in a plot to blow up the Vatican City.[9]
The Ground Zero expansion pack of the video game Quake II requires the protagonist to manufacture an Antimatter Bomb in the Munitions Plant to achieve the final objective.[citation needed]
References
- ^ a b "Air Force pursuing antimatter weapons / Program was touted publicly, then came official gag order". San Francisco Chronicle. 4 October 2004. Archived from the original on 29 December 2014. Retrieved 17 January 2015.
- ^ "Fusion Fuel". atomic rockets. Retrieved 2020-03-05.
- ^ "Antimatter Fuel". atomic rockets. Retrieved 2020-03-05.
- ^ "Manhattan Project". Archived from the original on 28 December 2014. Retrieved 17 January 2015.
- ^ "Laser technique produces bevy of antimatter". NBC News. 1 December 2008. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
- ^ "Antimatter weapons". cui.unige.ch. Archived from the original on 24 April 2013. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
- ISBN 9789386019837. Archivedfrom the original on 16 August 2017. Retrieved 4 May 2018 – via Google Books.
- ^ "Details on antimatter triggered fusion bombs - NextBigFuture.com". nextbigfuture.com. 22 September 2015. Archived from the original on 22 April 2017. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
- ^ Delphine. "Angels & Demons: The Physics Behind The Movie (and The Book)". Wired. Retrieved 13 March 2021.
External links
- Spotlight on "Angels and Demons" – A discussion at CERN's public website on the viability of the use of antimatter for energy and weaponry
- "Air Force pursuing antimatter weapons: Program was touted publicly, then came official gag order"
- Page discussing the possibility of using antimatter as a trigger for a thermonuclear explosion
- Paper discussing the number of antiprotons required to ignite a thermonuclear weapon