Induced nuclear reactions: processes – systems – and elements – Antimatter devices and methods
Reexamination Certificate
2003-07-28
2004-11-02
Wells, Nikita (Department: 2881)
Induced nuclear reactions: processes, systems, and elements
Antimatter devices and methods
C376S156000, C250S251000, C250S493100
Reexamination Certificate
active
06813330
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention is directed generally to devices for capturing and storing antimatter, and, more particularly, to an antimatter trap that can store relatively large, useful quantities of antimatter in the form of excited positronium, for relatively long times, as implemented by the use of photonic bandgap (PBG) structures. A Bose-Einstein Condensate state of excited positronium can be used to increase the storage density.
BACKGROUND ART
The basic building blocks of antimatter are the positively charged electron (positron) and the negatively charged proton (antiproton). Positrons have the same quantum characteristics as electrons, but have a positive electric charge. Antiprotons have the same quantum characteristics as protons, but have a negative electric charge. By combining equal numbers of negative and positive charges, an electrically neutral form of antimatter is constructed. The two simplest forms of electrically neutral antimatter, positronium (Ps) and antihydrogen (Ĥ), are both analogs of the ordinary hydrogen atom (H). Positronium, which has the lowest rest mass of any known atom, consists of a positron and an ordinary electron in orbit around each other. Positronium is formed from a mixture of normal matter and antimatter, and this type of mixed normal matter/antimatter material will hereafter be referred to as exotic matter. Antihydrogen is pure antimatter, consisting of a positron in orbit around an antiproton. Like ordinary hydrogen, both Ps and Ĥ can form molecules (e.g., Ps
2
and Ĥ
2
).
Traps for electrically neutral normal matter particles have been available for many years, see, for example, the loffe-Pritchard Trap and the Time-Averaged Orbiting Potential Trap. Also, Weinstein et al. (“Microscopic magnetic traps for neutral atoms”, Physical Review A, Vol. 52, pp. 4004-4009 (November 1995)) have proposed magnetic microtraps for storing very small amounts of electrically neutral atoms. These neutral atom traps have been difficult to implement as antimatter traps. Positronium is intrinsically unstable because it is composed of a particle and its antiparticle. From the ground state of positronium (e.g., Ps), the electron and positron annihilate in a very short time, generating two (or sometimes three) gamma rays. In free space, Ps self-annihilates in less than one microsecond. Antihydrogen is stable as long as it is confined within a region devoid of ordinary matter, a situation difficult to achieve in devices made of ordinary matter. Current neutral atom traps have a complex implementation, limited efficiency, and limited mass storage capacity. In contrast to the PBG trap of the present invention, current storage devices may have requirements (e.g., large mass, large volume, or high power usage) that preclude their use as an easily mobile trap. Mobility is a useful requirement for many applications of antimatter or exotic matter. For example, Smith et al. note in U.S. Pat. No. 6,160,263, entitled “Container for Transporting Antiprotons” and issued on Dec. 12, 2000, that “[a]ntimatter could have numerous commercial applications if it could be effectively stored and transported”.
Traps for electrically charged particles have been available for many years, see, for example, the Cyclotron, the Paul Trap, and the Penning Trap. These devices have been used for the storage of electrically charged antimatter. However, they are capable of storing only relatively small amounts of electrically charged matter or electrically charged antimatter. Various proposals and suggestions for storing electrically charged antimatter have been made. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,118,950, entitled “Cluster Ion Synthesis and Confinement in Hybrid Ion Trap Arrays” and issued on Jun. 2, 1992, to John T. Bahns et al., discloses a cluster ion synthesis process utilizing a containerless environment to grow in a succession of steps cluster ions of large mass and well defined distribution. The cluster ion growth is said to proceed in a continuous manner in a plurality of growth chambers which have virtually unlimited storage times and capacities. U.S. Pat. No. 5,206,506, entitled “Ion Processing: Control and Analysis” and issued on Apr. 27, 1993, to Nicholas J. Kirchner, discloses an ion processing unit including a series of perforated electrode sheets, driving electronics, and a central processing unit, forming a variant of the well-known non-magnetic radio frequency quadrupole ion trap. Kirchner suggests that as electrically charged antimatter is produced, it can be introduced into each processing channel and held confined to an individual potential well. However, Kirchner does not provide a mechanism for the effective introduction of the electrically charged antimatter into his device, and he makes no mention of the critical vacuum requirements.
In another example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,977,554 and 6,160,263, both entitled “Container for Transporting Antiprotons” and issued on Nov. 2, 1999, and Dec. 12, 2000, respectively, to Gerald A. Smith et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 6,414,331, entitled “Container for Transporting Antiprotons and Reaction Trap” and issued on Jul. 2, 2002, to Gerald A. Smith et al., disclose a container for transporting antiprotons, including a dewar having an evacuated cavity and a cryogenically cold wall. A plurality of thermally conductive supports is disposed in thermal connection with the cold wall and extends into the cavity. An antiproton trap is mounted on the extending supports within the cavity. A scalable cavity access port selectively provides access to the cavity for selective introduction into and removal from the cavity of the antiprotons. The container is capable of confining and storing antiprotons while they are transported via conventional terrestrial or airborne methods to a location distant from their creation. An electric field is used to control the position of the antiprotons relative to the antiproton confinement region.
These discussions pertain to the storage of antiprotons or positrons, but none discloses or suggests a method for the storage of electrically neutral antimatter or electrically neutral exotic matter (in particular, excited positronium, Ps*) in an easily mobile form. There remains a need for an antimatter trap that can store relatively large quantities of electrically neutral antimatter or exotic matter in a relatively small package with relatively low power requirements. The PBG trap of the current invention could be used in combination with one of these conventional traps with considerable synergistic results. Indeed, as suggested by Michael M. Nieto et al., “Dense Antihydrogen: Its Production and Storage to Envision Antimatter Propulsion,” Los Alamos Report LA-UR-01-3760, pp. 1-12 (Dec. 12, 2001), “ . . . a space-certified storage system for neutral antimatter can not be obtained from a linear extrapolation of heretofore existing technologies”.
When a particle, such as an electron, collides with its corresponding antiparticle (in this case the positron), the two particles annihilate and convert their total mass into energy. Thus, antimatter or exotic matter exists in the terrestrial environment only for very brief periods. There are many sources of positrons, e.g., commonly available radioactive isotopes such as
22
Na which exhibit &bgr;
+
-decay, and positron/electron pair creation by high-energy gamma rays produced by electron beams or as a by-product of neutron capture processes such as
113
Cd(n,&ggr;)
114
Cd*. In this neutron capture process, the
114
Cd* decays by emitting two or more gamma rays that can subsequently produce electron/positron pairs in a moderator such as tungsten (Richard Howell, “The Future: Intense Beams”, in Positron Beams and Their Applications, ed. Paul Coleman, World Scientific: Singapore, pp. 307-322, 2000). However, the production of antiprotons (and hence antihydrogen) is limited to very high-energy collision processes carried out in very expensive, complex facilities such as accelerators. Another important differentiating property between positron-ba
Barker Delmar L.
Schmitt Harry A.
Shah Nitesh N.
Alkov Leonard A.
Berestecki Philip P.
Finn Thomas J.
Raytheon Company
Wells Nikita
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