Antimatter spacecraft helps humans travel through space

The human dream of interstellar travel could become a reality thanks to an antimatter propulsion system developed by American physicists.

Illustration of an antimatter spacecraft. Photo: Steven Howe.

According to Forbes, two American physicists Gerald Jackson and Steven Howe have spent a decade researching antimatter propulsion systems. Their idea is to use 17 grams of antihydrogen material to send a spacecraft carrying a 10 kg probe to Alpha Centauri, the closest star system to the Solar System, in 40 years. The large 100 kg spacecraft will be 5 m in diameter, made of carbon and coated with depleted uranium.

Propulsion is provided by antimatter stored in the probe. When antihydrogen hits the spacecraft, uranium atoms undergo fission. The main product of this fission is two atoms of similar size moving in opposite directions at high speed. One atom hits the spacecraft, propelling it forward while the other disappears into space. Using this method, the spacecraft can reach speeds of approximately 10% the speed of light and reach the edge of the solar system in just 10 years.

However, one of the main problems the team has to solve is how to store antimatter. Antimatter is the reverse version of normal matter that humans create. Antimatter particles such as positrons and antiprotons have the same mass as electrons and protons but opposite electric charges. When matter and antimatter meet, they annihilate each other, creating net energy. Researchers are still unclear whether the universe is made of matter or antimatter.

The idea of ​​an antimatter propulsion system was first proposed in 2003 at the Particle Accelerator Conference in the US. The team is planning to build a small model of the propulsion system for testing.

According to VnE

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