Antimatter weapon

Theoretical weapon using antimatter

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
Find sources: "Antimatter weapon" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (August 2020) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

|

Antimatter

Antiparticles

* Positron
* Antiproton
* Antineutron
* Antihydrogen
* Antihelium

Onia

* Antiprotonic hydrogen
* Antiprotonic helium
* Muonium
* True muonium
* Pionium
* Positronium
* Quarkonium

Concepts and phenomena

* Annihilation
* Baryogenesis
* Baryon asymmetry
* Comet
* CP violation
* Gravitational interaction
* Positron emission

Devices

* Cloud chamber
* Particle accelerator
* Antiproton decelerator
* Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider
* Penning trap

Uses

* Positron emission tomography
* Fuel
* Weapon

Scientists

* Carl David Anderson
* Paul Dirac
* Andrei Sakharov
* CERN

* v
* t
* e

Weapons of mass destruction

By type

* Biological
* Chemical
* Nuclear
* Radiological

By country

* Albania
* Algeria
* Argentina
* Australia
* Brazil
* Bulgaria
* Canada
* China
* Egypt
* France
* Germany
* India
* Iran
* Iraq
* Israel
* Italy
* Japan
* Kazakhstan
* Libya
* Mexico
* Myanmar
* Netherlands
* North Korea
* Pakistan
* Philippines
* Poland
* Rhodesia
* Romania
* Russia (Soviet Union)
* Saudi Arabia
* South Africa
* South Korea
* Spain
* Sweden
* Switzerland
* Syria
* Taiwan
* Ukraine
* United Kingdom
* United States
* Yugoslavia

Proliferation

* Chemical
* Nuclear
* Missiles

Treaties

* List of treaties (treaty parties)

* Category

* v
* t
* e

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 US$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 mass energy equivalent being released as energy, which is at least two orders of magnitude greater than the energy release of the most efficient fusion weapons (100% vs 0.4–1%).[2] Annihilation requires and converts exactly equal masses of antimatter and matter by the collision which releases the entire mass-energy of both, which for 1 gram is ~9×1013 joules. Using the convention that 1 kiloton TNT equivalent equals 4.184×1012 joules (or one trillion calories of energy), one half gram of antimatter reacting with one half gram of ordinary matter (one gram total) results in 21.5 kilotons-equivalent of energy (the same as the atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki in 1945).[3]

## Cost

[edit]

As of July 2024[update], the cost of producing one millionth of a gram of antimatter was estimated at US $62 billion.[1][4] 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.[5] As such, Hui Chen of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory dismissed concerns about antimatter bombs in 2008 as "unrealistic".[6]

## Antimatter-catalyzed weapons

[edit]

Antimatter-catalyzed nuclear pulse propulsion proposes the use of antimatter as a "trigger"[7] 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).[8][9]

## In popular culture

[edit]

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.[10]

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.[11]

In the Star Trek franchise, Federation starships are armed with photon torpedoes which contain antimatter warheads.[12]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ 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.
2. ^ "Fusion Fuel". atomic rockets. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
3. ^ "Antimatter Fuel". atomic rockets. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
4. ^ McKeown, Matthew (18 December 2023). "Antimatter Tops List Of World's Most Expensive Material At $62 Trillion Per Gram".
5. ^ "Manhattan Project". Archived from the original on 28 December 2014. Retrieved 17 January 2015.
6. ^ "Laser technique produces bevy of antimatter". NBC News. 1 December 2008. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
7. ^ "Antimatter weapons". cui.unige.ch. Archived from the original on 24 April 2013. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
8. ^ Ramsey, Syed (12 May 2016). Tools of War: History of Weapons in Modern Times. Vij Books India Pvt Ltd. ISBN 9789386019837. Archived from the original on 16 August 2017. Retrieved 4 May 2018 - via Google Books.
9. ^ "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.
10. ^ Delphine. "Angels & Demons: The Physics Behind The Movie (and The Book)". Wired. Retrieved 13 March 2021.
11. ^ Degorram (23 September 2020). QUAKE 2: Ground Zero | Part 25 | Anti-Matter Bomb. Retrieved 2 August 2024 - via YouTube.
12. ^ Whitfild, Stephen E.; Roddenberry, Gene (1991). The Making of Star Trek (Twenty-seventh Print ed.). New York, NY: Ballantine Books. ISBN 0345340191.

## External links

[edit]

* 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

* v
* t
* e

Weapons

History|

| Premodern|

* African
* Chinese
* Early thermal weapons
* Japanese
* Medieval

|

Modern|

* Early modern
* Napoleonic
* American Indian Wars
* War of the Pacific
* Crimean War
* American Civil War
* War of the Triple Alliance
* Spanish–American War
* Mexican Revolution
* Antique
* Pre-20th century firearms

World War I|

* Chemical
* Infantry
* Australia
* Austria-Hungary
* Belgium
* Bulgaria
* Canada
* France
* Germany
* Greece
* India
* Italy
* Japan
* Montenegro
* New Zealand
* Portugal
* Romania
* Russia
* Serbia
* Turkey
* United Kingdom
* United States

Interwar period|

* Chaco War
* Spanish Civil War (Nationalist/Republican)
* Second Sino-Japanese War (Japanese/National Revolutionary Army)

World War II|

* Infantry
* Australia
* Austria
* Belgium
* Brazil
* Bulgaria
* Canada
* China
* Croatia
* Czechoslovakia
* Denmark
* Finland
* France
* Germany
* Greece
* Hungary
* Italy
* Japan
* Mexico
* Netherlands
* New Zealand
* Norway
* Poland
* Romania
* Soviet Union
* Thailand
* United Kingdom
* United States
* Yugoslavia

Cold War|

* Korean War
* Vietnam War
* Six-Day War
* Portuguese Colonial War
* Rhodesian Bush War
* South African Border War
* Cambodian Civil War
* Cambodian–Vietnamese War
* Iran–Iraq War
* Laotian Civil War
* Lebanese Civil War
* Dominican Civil War
* Nicaraguan Revolution
* Salvadoran Civil War
* Soviet–Afghan War
* Gulf War

Post-Cold War|

* Yugoslav Wars
* Afghanistan War
* Iraq War
* Russo-Georgian War
* Syrian Civil War
* Russo-Ukrainian War

Types|

* Aircraft
* Anti-aircraft
* Anti-ballistic
* Anti-personnel
* Anti-tank
* Area denial
* Artillery
* Biological
* Blunt instrument
* Ceremonial
* Chemical
* Conventional
* Crew-served
* Cyber
* Deadly
* Directed-energy
* Explosive
* Depth charge
* List
* Firearm
* Hunting
* Improvised
* Incendiary
* Martial arts
* Mass destruction
* Non-lethal
* Nuclear
* Offensive
* Pneumatic
* Practice
* Radiological
* Sonic
* Space
* Tectonic
* Torpedo
* Toy
* Vehicle

Other|

* Arms industry
* Arsenal
* Civilian gun ownership
* Science fiction
* Weapon mount

* Category

* v
* t
* e

Emerging technologies

Fields|

| Military|

* Antimatter weapon
* Caseless ammunition
* Coilgun
* Directed-energy weapon
* Laser
* Maser
* Particle-beam weapon
* Sonic weapon
* Plasma weapon
* Pure fusion weapon
* Railgun
* Stealth technology
* Vortex ring gun

|

Topics|

* Automation
* Collingridge dilemma
* Differential technological development
* Disruptive innovation
* Ephemeralization
* Ethics
* AI
* Bioethics
* Cyberethics
* Neuroethics
* Robot ethics
* Exploratory engineering
* Proactionary principle
* Technological change
* Technological unemployment
* Technological convergence
* Technological evolution
* Technological paradigm
* Technology forecasting
* Accelerating change
* Future-oriented technology analysis
* Horizon scanning
* Moore's law
* Technological singularity
* Technology scouting
* Technology in science fiction
* Technology readiness level
* Technology roadmap
* Transhumanism

* List

* v
* t
* e

Global catastrophic risks

* Future of the Earth
* Future of an expanding universe
* Ultimate fate of the universe
* Human extinction risk estimates

Technological|

* Chemical warfare
* Cyberattack
* Cyberwarfare
* Cyberterrorism
* Cybergeddon
* Ransomware
* Gray goo
* Nanoweapons
* Kinetic bombardment
* Kinetic energy weapon
* Nuclear warfare
* Mutual assured destruction
* Dead Hand
* Doomsday Clock
* Doomsday device
* Antimatter weapon
* Electromagnetic pulse (EMP)
* Safety of high-energy particle collision experiments
* Micro black hole
* Strangelet
* Synthetic intelligence / Artificial intelligence
* AI takeover
* Existential risk from artificial intelligence
* Technological singularity
* Transhumanism

Sociological|

* Anthropogenic hazard
* Collapsology
* Doomsday argument
* Self-indication assumption doomsday argument rebuttal
* Self-referencing doomsday argument rebuttal
* Economic collapse
* Malthusian catastrophe
* New World Order (conspiracy theory)
* Nuclear holocaust
* cobalt
* famine
* winter
* Riots
* Social crisis
* Societal collapse
* State collapse
* World War III

Ecological|

| Climate change|

* Anoxic event
* Biodiversity loss
* Mass mortality event
* Cascade effect
* Cataclysmic pole shift hypothesis
* Deforestation
* Desertification
* Plant or animal species extinctions
* Civilizational collapse
* Tipping points
* Climate sensitivity
* Flood basalt
* Global dimming
* Global terrestrial stilling
* Global warming
* Hypercane
* Ice age
* Ecocide
* Ecological collapse
* Environmental degradation
* Habitat destruction
* Human impact on the environment
* coral reefs
* on marine life
* Land degradation
* Land consumption
* Land surface effects on climate
* Ocean acidification
* Ozone depletion
* Resource depletion
* Sea level rise
* Supervolcano
* winter
* Verneshot
* Water pollution
* Water scarcity

|

Earth Overshoot Day|

* Overexploitation
* Overpopulation
* Human overpopulation

Biological|

| Extinction|

* Extinction event
* Holocene extinction
* Human extinction
* List of extinction events
* Genetic erosion
* Genetic pollution

|

Others|

* Biodiversity loss
* Decline in amphibian populations
* Decline in insect populations
* Biotechnology risk
* Biological agent
* Biological warfare
* Bioterrorism
* Colony collapse disorder
* Defaunation
* Dysgenics
* Interplanetary contamination
* Pandemic
* Pollinator decline
* Overfishing

Astronomical|

* Big Crunch
* Big Rip
* Coronal mass ejection
* Cosmological phase transition
* Geomagnetic storm
* False vacuum decay
* Gamma-ray burst
* Heat death of the universe
* Proton decay
* Virtual black hole
* Impact event
* Asteroid impact avoidance
* Asteroid impact prediction
* Potentially hazardous object
* Near-Earth object
* winter
* Rogue planet
* Rogue star
* Near-Earth supernova
* Hypernova
* Micronova
* Solar flare
* Stellar collision

Eschatological|

* Buddhist
* Maitreya
* Three Ages
* Hindu
* Kalki
* Kali Yuga
* Last Judgement
* Second Coming
* 1 Enoch
* Daniel
* Abomination of desolation
* Prophecy of Seventy Weeks
* Messiah
* Christian
* Futurism
* Historicism
* Interpretations of Revelation
* Idealism
* Preterism
* 2 Esdras
* 2 Thessalonians
* Man of sin
* Katechon
* Antichrist
* Book of Revelation
* Events
* Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse
* Lake of fire
* Number of the Beast
* Seven bowls
* Seven seals
* The Beast
* Two witnesses
* War in Heaven
* Whore of Babylon
* Great Apostasy
* New Earth
* New Jerusalem
* Olivet Discourse
* Great Tribulation
* Son of perdition
* Sheep and Goats
* Islamic
* Al-Qa'im
* Beast of the Earth
* Dhu al-Qarnayn
* Dhul-Suwayqatayn
* Dajjal
* Israfil
* Mahdi
* Sufyani
* Jewish
* Messiah
* War of Gog and Magog
* Third Temple
* Norse
* Zoroastrian
* Saoshyant

Others|

* 2011 end times prediction
* 2012 phenomenon
* Apocalypse
* Apocalyptic literature
* Apocalypticism
* Armageddon
* Blood moon prophecy
* Earth Changes
* End time
* Gog and Magog
* List of dates predicted for apocalyptic events
* Messianism
* Messianic Age
* Millenarianism
* Millennialism
* Premillennialism
* Amillennialism
* Postmillennialism
* Nemesis (hypothetical star)
* Nibiru cataclysm
* Rapture
* Prewrath
* Posttribulation rapture
* Resurrection of the dead
* Vulnerable world hypothesis
* World to come

Fictional|

* Alien invasion
* Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction
* List of apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction
* List of apocalyptic films
* Climate fiction
* Disaster films
* List of disaster films
* Zombie apocalypse
* Zombie

Organizations|

* Centre for the Study of Existential Risk
* Future of Humanity Institute
* Future of Life Institute
* Nuclear Threat Initiative

General|

* Disaster
* Depression
* Financial crisis
* Survivalism

* World portal
* Categories
* Apocalypticism
* Future problems
* Hazards
* Risk analysis
* Doomsday scenarios

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template