Nextbigfuture has covered the theoretical possibility that there could be millions of tons of antimatter hidden inside fast rotating asteroids.
Vixra - Quark Matter in the Solar System : Evidence for a Game-Changing Space Resource
Crowlspace has noted how if we did have an abundance of antimatter that big interstellar starships would be possible.
What if we use something else for reaction mass and use antimatter to energise that? And, instead of using it in a rocket, we use a magnetic scoop to draw in reaction mass from the interstellar medium? This is the Ram-Augmented Interstellar ‘Rocket’ – though technically a rocket carries all its reaction mass – and it promises high performance without all the disadvantages of exponentially rising mass-ratios. Mixing 1% antimatter into the matter flow could, in theory, produce an exhaust velocity of ~0.2 c. Scooping and energising the equivalent mass of ~100 times the mass of the starship would allow a top-speed of 0.999999996 c to be achieved, before braking to a halt using half that mass. This would allow, at 1 gee acceleration, a journey of ~20,000 light-years. The nearby stars would be accessible at a much lower antimatter budget.
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Artwork of a Bussard ramjet in flight. Credit and ©: Adrian Mann
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Vixra - Quark Matter in the Solar System : Evidence for a Game-Changing Space Resource
Crowlspace has noted how if we did have an abundance of antimatter that big interstellar starships would be possible.
What if we use something else for reaction mass and use antimatter to energise that? And, instead of using it in a rocket, we use a magnetic scoop to draw in reaction mass from the interstellar medium? This is the Ram-Augmented Interstellar ‘Rocket’ – though technically a rocket carries all its reaction mass – and it promises high performance without all the disadvantages of exponentially rising mass-ratios. Mixing 1% antimatter into the matter flow could, in theory, produce an exhaust velocity of ~0.2 c. Scooping and energising the equivalent mass of ~100 times the mass of the starship would allow a top-speed of 0.999999996 c to be achieved, before braking to a halt using half that mass. This would allow, at 1 gee acceleration, a journey of ~20,000 light-years. The nearby stars would be accessible at a much lower antimatter budget.
Artwork of a Bussard ramjet in flight. Credit and ©: Adrian Mann
Read more »
