Antimatter Propulsion

[Metin]

Hey guys, I just released my new e-book that should be interesting to both sci-fi readers and authors. Many popular science fiction movies and novels feature antimatter propulsion systems, from the classic Star Trek series all the way to Cameron's hit movie Avatar. But what exactly is antimatter? And how can it be used accelerate rockets? This book is a gentle introduction to the science behind antimatter propulsion. The first section deals with antimatter in general, detailing its discovery, behavior, production and storage. This is followed by an introduction to propulsion, including a look at the most important quantities involved and the propulsion systems in use or in development today. Finally, the most promising antimatter propulsion and rocket concepts are presented and their feasibility discussed, from the solid core concept to antimatter initiated microfusion engines, from the Valkyrie project to Penn State's AIMStar spacecraft. No prior knowledge is required.

From the author of "Physics! In Quantities and Examples" and the popular "Great Formulas Explained" series.



Get it here for $ 2.99:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00O3M4OM6

[Andrew]

That sounds interesting. Did you include my favorite crazy propulsion system, the original Project Orion from the 1950's?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_...

[Metin]

Hey Andrew, thanks for your question! Project Orion is indeed a fantastic concept, but I didn't include pure nuclear propulsion engines or rockets in the book. However, the ACMF engine and ICAN-II (a rocket concept in development at Penn State University that uses the ACMF) might be interesting to you. The ACMF is also a pulsed propulsion engine, but besides fission and fusion reactions it also makes use of antimatter annihilation. Unfortunately, it's not as powerful as Orion's drive and doesn't enable interstellar travel.

[Keith]

I use matter-antimatter annihilation as a sub-light propulsion and power system in my latest novel, Galactic Shadows. Of course, the biggest issue is making enough antimatter in the first place. Right now, it's the most valuable commodity on Earth. You could probably purchase the entire planet for a gram or two of it. In my book, I don't go into how it's created/harvested. That, in itself, might make for an interesting story.

[Keith]

On the other hand, you could have it "both ways" - a single particle that is matter AND its antimatter counterpart. Check it out here:

http://www.scientificamerican.com/art...

[Metin]

Hey Keith, your propulsion system sounds interesting! Yes, getting the fuel is the biggest problem. The anti-proton production rate at present is around 10 ng per year, which is not enough to power any rocket. Bummer ... But, there's some hope. The production rate has gone up by sixteen orders of magnitude over the past decades and if this trend continues, gram amounts could become available by 2050. This would be sufficient to power the AIMStar spacecraft (which is capable of reaching the Oort Cloud within 50 years).

The link is fascinating, I wasn't aware of that. So cool!

[Keith]

I do use FTL in my latest novel. The "annihilation" engines are used by alien visitors. In my "universe," FTL is available through what we would call Alcubierre drives, that "surf" the spacetime foam, by compressing space in front of, and stretching space behind the starship, which is protected by a bubble of normal spacetime.

In my fictional technology, the rate at which you can "surf" FTL, is determined by your velocity when you go FTL. The faster you're going, the faster you can go when traveling FTL (e.g., 20 light years/day).

My antimatter engines not only propel the ship - to velocities typically 7000 - 30,000 km/sec - but also power the FTL engines, which reach into the negative energy at the zero point (the spacetime quanta), in order to provide sufficient energy to warp spacetime around the ship. A similar, though less detailed, idea was used before in scifi, but I've forgotten the reference.

[Keith]

A year or two ago, there was a discussion in this group about whether or not FTL made scifi less "hard" or believable. Some authors were adamantly against FTL. I came out on the other side, though I hadn't used FTL up to that time.

Now I have. I'd be VERY interested in your comments about the believability of FTL, especially since I've not only used it, but I consider myself a writer of HARD scifi. I'm a scientist too.

I use matter/antimatter annihilation as a way to get to FTL.

Keith

[Metin]

It's fantastic that you put so much thought into your propulsion system. While FTL might never become physical reality, it will always be an important part of science fiction. And when used, plausibility and consistency are vital. I love sci-fi novels that provide believeable details about the technology used, it makes the story vivid and unique. I like your approach! 20 ly/year sound great, you could do a weekend trip to Alpha Centauri with that. ;)

[Metin]

Hey, didn't even see your second comment, but it looks like I went in the right direction anyways. :) For me it's difficult to imagine sci-fi without FTL. Besides wormholes, there's really no alternative to covering the vast distances in reasonable time spans. As long as it's plausible and consistent, it's believeable, even if it's not physically possible. That's my take.

[Keith]

Here are 2 links to articles about the Alcubierre drive, if you're not familiar with it:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcubier...

and

https://www.princeton.edu/~achaney/tm...

The first one is Wiki - but a pretty good article. The second one is from Princeton U. and is a lot heavier.

[Metin]

Thanks for the links. I'm familiar with the Casimir Effect and its supposed implications for wormholes, but I've never seen it used for propulsion. Interesting concept!