• Question: Do you think that anti-matter could ever become as a viable energy source ?

    Asked by tpearce400 to Arttu, Ceri, James_M, Monica, Philip on 17 Jun 2011.
    • Photo: James M Monk

      James M Monk answered on 16 Jun 2011:

      Not an energy *source*, no. To make anti-matter you would need at least as much energy as you get out of the anti-matter, and in practice you would need a lot more than that.

      Anti-matter could in principle be used as a very compact way of transporting energy though, a bit like a very advanced rechargeable battery.

    • Photo: Arttu Rajantie

      Arttu Rajantie answered on 17 Jun 2011:

      James is right, antimatter is not a good energy source because it only exists in nature in tiny quantities in cosmic rays. However, in principle it is an ideal way to store and transport energy for long periods of time. This I because the amount of energy you can obtain from antimatter is 2mc^2, twice the energy stored in its mass, and much more than even in nuclear fuels. There are massive practical problems, though, because producing antimatter is costly and storing it safely is very difficult.

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