Cern Scientists Trap First Antimatter Atoms

[Yelchor]

Well, yes. Terchnically we wouldn't need to make a super-fast vessel to reach our goals. We could carve out an asteroid with plenty of room for alot of people, sending them off on a generation-spanning journey.

The problem with this however would be the risks of the space explorers and people on Earth getting a bit too much separated between each other through the course of time.

 

[Calgetorix]

Scientists have announced the first successful attempt to trap and hold antimatter atoms.

Am I the only one who immediately thought of Angels and Demons (by Dan Brown) when I read this?

As exciting as this is, I still don't see anitmatter-powered anything being feasible inside our lifetimes. We may need a different fuel source to power our intersolar spacecraft.

Actually, one of the physicists taking part in the ALPHA-project is in the credits of the movie.

You are probably right that any use of antimatter is not on the horizon yet but that's not the most exciting about this experiment. It's the fact that antihydrogen can be captured long enough to make measurements on it and see if the energy levels are the same as for normal hydrogen.

If they are the same, well, then our current theories are correct. If not, the current theories need revising. Exciting stuff!