167 lines
9.0 KiB
Plaintext
167 lines
9.0 KiB
Plaintext
ÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜ ÜÜÜ ÜÜÜÜ
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ÜÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛßÛßßßßßÛÛÜ ÜÜßßßßÜÜÜÜ ÜÛÜ ÜÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÜÜÜÜÜÛßß ßÛÛ
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ßÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÜ ßÛÛ ÜÛÛÛÜÛÛÜÜÜ ßÛÛÛÛÜ ßÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÜÛÛÜÜÜÛÛÝ Ûß
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ßßßÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÜ ÞÝ ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛßßÛÜÞÛÛÛ ÛÛÛÛÛÜ ßßÛÛÛÞß
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Mo.iMP ÜÛÛÜ ßÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÝÛ ÞÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ ÞÛÛÛÛ ÞÛÛÛÛÛÝ ßÛß
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ÜÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÝ ÞÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÝ ÛÛÛ ÛÛÛÛÛÛ
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ÜÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÝ ÞÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ ÞÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ ß ÞÛÛÛÛÛÛÜ ÜÛ
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ÜÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÝ ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÝ ÞÞÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛß
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ÜÛßÛÛÛÛÛÛ ÜÜ ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÝ ÛÛÞÛÛÛÛÛÝ ÞÛÛÛÛÛÛßß
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ÜÛßÛÛÛÛÛÛÜÛÛÛÛÜÞÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ ÞÛ ßÛÛÛÛÛ Ü ÛÝÛÛÛÛÛ Ü
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ÜÛ ÞÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛß ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ ßÛÜ ßÛÛÛÜÜ ÜÜÛÛÛß ÞÛ ÞÛÛÛÝ ÜÜÛÛ
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ÛÛ ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛß ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÜ ßÛÜ ßßÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛß ÜÜÜß ÛÛÛÛÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÛÛÛÛÛß
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ßÛÜ ÜÛÛÛß ßÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÜ ßßÜÜ ßßÜÛÛßß ßÛÛÜ ßßßÛßÛÛÛÛÛÛÛßß
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ßßßßß ßßÛÛß ßßßßß ßßßßßßßßßßßßß
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ARRoGANT CoURiERS WiTH ESSaYS
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Grade Level: Type of Work Subject/Topic is on:
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[ ]6-8 [ ]Class Notes [Essay on Anti-Matter ]
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[x]9-10 [ ]Cliff Notes [ ]
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[ ]11-12 [x]Essay/Report [ ]
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[ ]College [ ]Misc [ ]
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Dizzed: 10/94 # of Words:1240 School: ? State: ?
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ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ>ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ>ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ>Chop Here>ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ>ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ>ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ>ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
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Anti-Matter
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Introduction
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Ordinary matter has negatively charged electrons circling a positively
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charged nuclei. Anti-matter has positively charged electrons - positrons -
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orbiting a nuclei with a negative charge - anti-protons. Only anti-protons
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and positrons are able to be produced at this time, but scientists in
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Switzerland have begun a series of experiments which they believe will lead
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to the creation of the first anti-matter element -- Anti- Hydrogen.
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The Research
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Early scientists often made two mistakes about anti-matter. Some
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thought it had a negative mass, and would thus feel gravity as a push
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rather than a pull. If this were so, the antiproton's negative mass/energy
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would cancel the proton's when they met and nothing would remain; in
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reality, two extremely high-energy gamma photons are produced. Today's
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theories of the universe say that there is no such thing as a negative
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mass.
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The second and more subtle mistake is the idea that anti-water would
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only annihilate with ordinary water, and could safety be kept in (say) an
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iron container. This is not so: it is the subatomic particles that react so
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destructively, and their arrangement makes no difference.
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Scientists at CERN in Geneva are working on a device called the LEAR
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(low energy anti-proton ring) in an attempt to slow the velocity of the
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anti-protons to a billionth of their normal speeds. The slowing of the
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anti-protons and positrons, which normally travel at a velocity of that
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near the speed of light, is neccesary so that they have a chance of meeting
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and combining into anti-hydrogen.
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The problems with research in the field of anti-matter is that when
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the anti-matter elements touch matter elements they annihilate each other.
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The total combined mass of both elements are released in a spectacular
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blast of energy. Electrons and positrons come together and vanish into
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high-energy gamma rays (plus a certain number of harmless neutrinos, which
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pass through whole planets without effect). Hitting ordinary matter, 1 kg
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of anti-matter explodes with the force of up to 43 million tons of TNT -
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as though several thousand Hiroshima bombs were detonated at once.
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So how can anti-matter be stored? Space seems the only place, both for
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storage and for large-scale production. On Earth, gravity will sooner or
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later pull any anti-matter into disastrous contact with matter.
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Anti-matter has the opposite effect of gravity on it, the anti-matter is
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'pushed away' by the gravitational force due to its opposite nature to that
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of matter. A way around the gravity problem appears at CERN, where fast
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moving anti-protons can be held in a 'storage ring' around which they
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constantly move - and kept away from the walls of the vacuum chamber - by
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magnetic fields. However, this only works for charged particles, it does
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not work for anti-neutrons, for example.
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The Unanswerable Question
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Though anti-matter can be manufactured, slowly, natural anti-matter
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has never been found. In theory, we should expect equal amounts of matter
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and anti-matter to be formed at the beginning of the universe - perhaps
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some far off galaxies are the made of anti-matter that somehow became
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separated from matter long ago. A problem with the theory is that cosmic
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rays that reach Earth from far-off parts are often made up of protons or
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even nuclei, never of anti-protons or antinuclei. There may be no natural
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anti-matter anywhere.
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In that case, what happened to it? The most obvious answer is that,
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as predicted by theory, all the matter and anti-matter underwent mutual
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annihilation in the first seconds of creation; but why there do we still
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have matter? It seems unlikely that more matter than anti-matter should be
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formed. In this scenario, the matter would have to exceed the anti-matter
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by one part in 1000 million.
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An alternative theory is produced by the physicist M. Goldhaber in
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1956, is that the universe divided into two parts after its formation - the
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universe that we live in, and an alternate universe of anti-matter that
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cannot be observed by us.
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The Chemistry
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Though they have no charge, anti-neutrons differ from neutrons in
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having opposite 'spin' and 'baryon number'. All heavy particles, like
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protons or neutrons, are called baryons. A firm rule is that the total
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baryon number cannot change, though this apparently fails inside black
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holes. A neutron (baryon number +1) can become a proton (baryon number +1)
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and an electron (baryon number 0 since an electron is not a baryon but a
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light particle). The total electric charge stays at zero and the total
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baryon number at +1. But a proton cannot simply be annihilated.
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A proton and anti-proton (baryon number -1) can join together in an
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annihilation of both. The two heavy particles meet in a flare of energy
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and vanish, their mass converted to high-energy radiation wile their
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opposite charges and baryon numbers cancel out. We can make antiprotons in
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the laboratory by turning this process round, using a particle accelerator
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to smash protons together at such enormous energies that the energy of
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collision is more than twice the mass/energy of a proton. The resulting
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reaction is written:
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p + p p + p + p + p
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Two protons (p) become three protons plus an antiproton(p); the total
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baryon number before is:
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1 + 1 = 2 And after the collision it is: 1 + 1 + 1 - 1 = 2 Still two.
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Anti-matter elements have the same properties as matter properties.
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For example, two atoms of anti-hydrogen and one atom of anti-oxygen would
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become anti-water.
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The Article
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The article chosen reflects on recent advancements in anti-matter
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research. Scientists in Switzerland have begun experimenting with a LEAR
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device (low energy anti- proton ring) which would slow the particle
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velocity by a billionth of its original velocity. This is all done in an
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effort to slow the velocity to such a speed where it can combine chemically
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with positrons to form anti-hydrogen.
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The author of the article, whose name was not included on the article,
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failed to investigate other anti-matter research laboratories and their
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advancements. The author focused on the CERN research laboratory in
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Geneva. 'The intriguing thing about our work is that it flies in the face
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of all other current developments in particle physics' .
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The article also focused on the intrigue into the discovering the
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anti-matter secret, but did not mention much on the destruction and mayhem
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anti-matter would cause if not treated with the utmost care and safety.
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Discovering anti-matter could mean the end of the Earth as we know it, one
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mistake could mean the end of the world and a release of high-energy gamma
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rays that could wipe out the life on earth in mere minutes.
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It was a quite interesting article, with a lot of information that
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could affect the entire world. The article, however, did not focus on the
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benefits or disadvantages of anti- matter nor did it mention the practical
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uses of anti-matter. They are too expensive to use for powering rocket
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ships, and are not safe for household or industrial use, so have no meaning
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to the general public. It is merely a race to see who can make the first
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anti- matter element.
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Conclusion
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As research continues into the field of anti-matter there might be
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some very interesting and practical uses of anti-matter in the society of
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the future. Until there is a practical use, this is merely an attempt to
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prove which research lab will be the first to manufacture the anti-matter
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elements.
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