Naked Science Forum
Non Life Sciences => Chemistry => Topic started by: Lewis Thomson on 26/01/2022 11:13:33
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Donald would like help finding answer to this situation.
"Anti-electrons(positrons) annihilate quickly because the outer parts of atoms are electrons. An antimatter proton has a negative charge and is repelled by the inverse square law from most atoms in our universe with the negative charge on the outside, and being lighter than hydrogen gas(H2), must be able to move almost anywhere. Can antimatter protons (with a negative charge) be held by positively charged ions safely in a couplet, say an amber rod. Or perhaps, it can be encircled by electrically polar molecules like water with the oxygen part bee-balling the antiproton. Or does the antiproton 'burrow' it's way thru the negatively charged electron shell and react with protons in the nucleus, reducing the atomic number, and producing a lighter atom? I understand the production and handling of antiprotons is expensive and fraught with difficulty, and technical papers are few."
What answers have you found? Place them in the comments below...
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My understanding is that antiprotons will not last long in the presence of normal atomic matter.
While it is true that antiprotons and electrons will repel each other, it important to recognize that this goes both ways. The force on the antiproton is equal to the force on the electron, but the antiproton is nearly 2000 times more massive than the electron. So rather than an incoming antiproton being deflected by an electron, it is more likely that an incoming proton would cause an electron to be ejected from the system, or at least move out of the way. The antiproton will eventually find its way to a nucleus and annihilate.
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Because antiprotons have an electric charge, it is possible to capture them in an ion trap, where a combination of electric fields keep it from touching any "normal" matter. It needs to be kept in an extremely good vacuum, or air will annihilate with the anti-proton.
The ALPHA experiment at the LHC is able to store anti-protons and anti-electrons in the form of anti-hydrogen.
- Because anti-hydrogen is electrically neutral, you cannot trap it with electric fields
- However, anti-hydrogen (and normal hydrogen) behave like a tiny bar magnet, and you can trap it with a strong magnetic field.
- ALPHA is studying whether the gravitational attraction of matter is the same as the gravitational attraction of anti-matter.
See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antihydrogen#Low-energy_antihydrogen