Air Force pursuing antimatter weapons

[Jcrowley]

Air Force pursuing antimatter weapons
Program was touted publicly, then came official gag order
Keay Davidson

The U.S. Air Force is quietly spending millions of dollars investigating ways to use a radical power source — antimatter, the eerie “mirror” of ordinary matter — in future weapons.

The most powerful potential energy source presently thought to be available to humanity, antimatter is a term normally heard in science-fiction films and TV shows, whose heroes fly “antimatter-powered spaceships” and do battle with “antimatter guns.”

But antimatter itself isn’t fiction; it actually exists and has been intensively studied by physicists since the 1930s. In a sense, matter and antimatter are the yin and yang of reality: Every type of subatomic particle has its antimatter counterpart. But when matter and antimatter collide, they annihilate each other in an immense burst of energy.

During the Cold war, the Air Force funded numerous scientific studies of the basic physics of antimatter. With the knowledge gained, some Air Force insiders are beginning to think seriously about potential military uses — for example, antimatter bombs small enough to hold in one’s hand, and antimatter engines for 24/7 surveillance aircraft.

More cataclysmic possible uses include a new generation of super weapons — either pure antimatter bombs or antimatter-triggered nuclear weapons; the former wouldn’t emit radioactive fallout. Another possibility is antimatter- powered “electromagnetic pulse” weapons that could fry an enemy’s electric power grid and communications networks, leaving him literally in the dark and unable to operate his society and armed forces.

http://www.rinf.com/columnists/news/air-force-pursuing-antimatter-weapons

[MadHound]

1. Oh geez, now nothing could go wrong with this now, could it?

Can you say "wipe out the entire solar system? I knew you could.":eyes:

[Lerkfish]

2. But cap'n, I kenna hold the matter/antimatter engines an-he longer..she'll

blow!



edited to add image

[cynatnite]

31. Perfect! n/t

[porphyrian]

3. That's fucking terrifying. - n/t

[GreenPartyVoter]

5. Yep. We're nowhere near emotionally evolved enough to hold

this kind of power in our hands.

[porphyrian]

8. Maybe it's a backhanded way to get us to accept tactical nukes...

:eyes:

Can we get the crazy people out of the driver's seat yet?

[bobthedrummer]

36. It is beyond MAD-it seems nuts, paradoxically extreme. Tactical nukes for example.

The recent firing of the head of the nuclear weapons program, Linton F. Brooks reflects this. Mr. Brooks career was a paradox-he worked on mini-nukes and also was the chief negotiator of the first Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty/START, and it just gets crazier.

"Bush picks new head of nuclear agency" (Boston Herald/AP)
http://news.bostonherald.com/politics/view.bg?articleid=175548

Linton F. Brooks RightWeb profile

http://rightweb.irc-online.org/profile/1056

links cited under fair use

[CoffeeCat]

11. That's exactly it...

Human beings have evolved technologically--but spiritually and emotionally--we're a bunch
of neanderthals.

Human beings, who are nowhere near "self-actualization" have no business with weapons like
this.

Maybe the mother ship could return and bomb us back into the stone age--so we can't totally
destroy ourselves.

[GreenPartyVoter]

19. Hey maybe that UFO at O'Hare was checking up on us?

[shadowknows69]

26. Yep, and probably decided

They're still fuck ups, no admission to the galactic consortium yet.

[Javaman]

27. As long as...

civilization prays to a god to solve it's problems we will be continually screwed.

we make spaceships but live in caves.

[Irreverend IX]

14. That's a fucking joke.

Scientists have been able to create tiny quantities of antimatter (a few thousand atoms) in supercolliders, but there's no way to build an antimatter weapon out of today's technology. The antiprotons created in experiments vanish in microseconds and there's no known way to preserve or contain antimatter since it's annihilated on contact with regular matter. It sounds like a defense contractor got really drunk at some Washington party and made a bunch of promises to senators that he shouldn't have. The only new technological advancement mentioned in the story is a proposed antimatter trap device, and even if such a thing can be made to work perfectly it'll be of very limited use because antimatter production is so slow and expensive.

[porphyrian]

15. Making it even more likely that this is spin to make tac-nukes more acceptable. - n/t

[formercia]

17. What's a few Billion down a rat hole?

wouldn't be the first time. Adds a whole new meaning to the word Ooops!

[Name removed]

4. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Skidmore]

6. They're looking for a use for that stuff between *'s ears?

Just when you thought the world couldn't become more dangerous.

[Gidney N Cloyd]

7. Don't cross the streams.

Dr. Egon Spengler: There's something very important I forgot to tell you.
Dr. Peter Venkman: What?
Dr. Egon Spengler: Don't cross the streams.
Dr. Peter Venkman: Why?
Dr. Egon Spengler: It would be bad.
Dr. Peter Venkman: I'm a little fuzzy on the whole "good/bad" thing here! What do you mean "bad"?
Dr. Egon Spengler: Try to imagine all life as you know it stopping instantaneously and every molecule in your body exploding at the speed of light.
Dr. Ray Stantz: Total protonic reversal!
Dr. Peter Venkman: That's bad. Okay. Alright, important safety tip, thanks Egon.

[Ilsa]

9. Elevator scene: Egon: "Switch me on." nt

[phantom power]

10. matter/antimatter isn't an energy source, so much as a storage medium.

a storage medium with astronomically high energy density. Which is why it makes good weapons, if you can manufacture enough of it and control it.

I'm not losing much sleep over this. The flip side of such an energy-dense storage scheme, is it takes an awful lot of energy to make a small amount of antimatter. e = (m)(c^2) and all that.

[BlooInBloo]

12. Oh sheesh.

[ntesla]

13. Would be awesome as an energy source

"antimatter engines for 24/7 surveillance aircraft"

I wonder if it is possible to power ion propulsion crafts (a.k.a. UFOs, flying saucers..) with antimatter.

[madinmaryland]

16. Beam me up Scotty!!1!!

:rofl:

[Parche]

25. ENERGIZE

Capt, I cant give you any more power

[ironflange]

28. Set phasers to stun!

Bzzzzzzt!

[ContraBass Black]

18. Antimatter bombs?

WTF is the point of a weapon that leaves no spoils behind?

[SidDithers]

20. As others have pointed out, it's not likely to happen soon...

more discussion here from last month.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=364&topic_id=2997133&mesg_id=2997133

Sid

[Jcrowley]

21. But hey the later the better

cause if it did happen all the billions on R&D would dry up and oh wait another project from DARPA just arose.

Got healthcare?

[bobthedrummer]

29. DARPA and BAE Systems "...exploiting new phenomenology"

yep, who can make this stuff up-DARPA has "awarded" a contract to BAE Systems for who knows what purposes of Novel Satellite Communications, look out for those PRC and other ASW's.

BAE deals historically have helped fund terrorism, drugs, human traffickers-the BFEE.

But the most telling comment about this was that of Dr. Michael Zatman and the "new phenomenology".
BFEE corrupts the best and the brightest and then they disappear into darkness.

DARPA Awards Novel Satellite Communications Contract To BAE Systems press release 1-16-07
http://www.comspacewatch.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=21683

[walldude]

22. Normally I wouldn't worry about this kind of Sci-Fi stuff

but who knows what kind of technology these guys are sitting on. Look at all the stuff you can do from your home PC. The government could do most of that 25 or 30 years ago. Who knows what kind of shit they are thinking up. And for the fact that these guys can't seem to do anything right we should probably prepare for the next "Big Bang". Or as Calvin liked to call it "The Horrendous Space Kablooie!"

[Kelly Rupert]

23. I see nothing wrong with this. Seriously.

Antimatter is ridiculously powerful, and if it were to become practical enough for military use, civilian applications won't be far behind. There's rarely been an industrial advance that hasn't either come from or led to a military application--what's so different about this?

What is so frightening about an antimatter bomb? It would be less damaging to the Earth than a nuclear bomb. What is so frightening than an electromagnetic pulse? Would you rather we take out enemy power grids by dropping bombs on civilian power plants?

Fringe research is nothing new. The odds of a breakthrough are extremely low, but the potential rewards are enormous. There's nothing wrong with dropping a few million dollars on this. The most likely outcome is that the government has financed a few years of particle physics research. I fail to see the scandal.

[bobthedrummer]

24. Simon P. Worden, Senator Brownback, and other BFEE Holy Technical Warriors

In the spring of 2000 USAF Col. J. Douglas Beason published the following "scientific" article which was "influenced", to a large extent, by both the scientific/technical skillsets, expertise and personal belief systems of future national security policy shapers.

All those DUers and visitors with training in detailed observation please note the sources of Beason's Figure 1 and Figure 2.

"The Need for Technical Warriors" by Col. J. Douglas Beason 2000
http://www.airpower.maxwell.af.mil/airchronicles/apj/apj00/spr00/beason.htm

The people Beason quoted and referenced, like then USAF Col. Simon P. Worden (Figure 2 source), Genevieve J. Knezo, Kenneth L. Adelman (Figure 1 source also Augustine,K) and others are revolutionary RW extremists without a doubt.

They are accessories to murder and war crimes and only God knows what else-and these horrible crimes are being carried out in the name of God-just like the suicide zealots and terrorists of God in the geopolitical conflict areas of Earth.

In that respect regardless of what religion espoused, these people are all holy warriors, jihadists, crusaders, and delivering death is then a sacred thing to those with that type of belief system.

The goal of selectively "scientifically" ridding an entire planet of one's "enemies" (even thoughts) is in progress on multiple axes. It has failed but continues (the paradox effect).

More about this later. For the meantime here are a couple of related links for those DUers and visitors with various skillsets.

Beason's Figure 1's Kenneth L. Adelman profile from SourceWatch.org
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Kenneth_L._Adelman

Brownback Urges General Worden for NASA Adminstrator
(the trained observer and politically aware note that Brownback at the time of this endorsement was Chair of the SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY and SPACE Subcommittee of the Senate Commerce, SCIENCE, and Transportation Committee)
http://brownback.senate.gov/pressapp/record.cfm?id=230179

"Ten Things I Learned From The Pentagon's Prayer Team"
by Jeff Sharlet
http://www.alternet.org/waroniraq/46262/

[benEzra]

30. Actually, if they succeed in making antimatter energy storage practical,

it would also have a lot of benefits. It would be a godsend for interplanetary space travel, for example, since its effective energy density would be about 50 times higher than a nuclear reactor, I'd think. A matter/antimatter reactor and a high-power ion engine would be a very useful thing.

DARPA explores a lot of concepts that may or may not pan out (most probably don't), and they've developed a lot of very useful things that have civilian application, including adaptive topics and the foundation of the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Internet">Internet.

[cynatnite]

32. Maybe they'll make enough advances to get me off this damn rock n/t

[sakabatou]

33. MAD, huh?

[MetaTrope]

34. I'm sure Bush has a chronic hard-on over this

Currently I'm making my way through all five seasons of BABYLON 5 on DVD (having stopped watching TV some time before it was airing). I've heard that Karl Rove accosted the creator of the show to tell him that both he and Bush are big fans of it, which pretty much horrified the guy. I can't say I'm surprised though. With the amazing display of cognitive dissonance that all staunch conservatives show these days, I have no doubt that Bush and Rove totally failed to notice certain plot threads in the show--the Earth president taking over via assassination, dissolving the senate and declaring martial law, the government-recruited "homeland security" agency reporting and taking action on dissident thought and expression, the privileged and inbred Psi Corps using their wealth and talents to manipulate the government behind the scenes, the Centauri race invading and decimating the home worlds of "inferior" races.

No, there's no doubt that the scene engraved in Bush's mind is that of Captain Sheridan at the helm of his ship, facing down the fleet of inhumanoid Vorlons and Shadows that want to shape the evolution of life in the galaxy, while ship after ship full of subservient alien allies throw themselves into the path of the joint Vorlon/Shadow attacks to sacrifice their lives in order to protect Sheridan's messianic leadership. THAT'S the image Bush has of himself in the Oval Office. Let's face it, he's simply a lunatic.

[Warren Stupidity]

35. Did you hear the one about the matababy? nt.