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From: dbb@aicchi.UUCP (Burch)
Newsgroups: net.physics
Subject: Re: Re: Do Positrons Have Negative Mass? (Antimatter Fuel)
Message-ID: <549@aicchi.UUCP>
Date: Sun, 25-Aug-85 11:40:26 EDT
Article-I.D.: aicchi.549
Posted: Sun Aug 25 11:40:26 1985
Date-Received: Wed, 28-Aug-85 01:54:27 EDT
References: <437@ttidcb.UUCP> <228@bcsaic.UUCP>
Organization: Analysts International Corp; Chicago Branch
Lines: 18

> doing research on the mass of antimatter (not specifically
> positrons).  The article stated that NASA was interested in this
> peripherally--they wanted to know whether antimatter could be contained,
> in the hopes that *it could be used as a fuel in spaceships*.  Shades of
> Star Trek!!
> 
> Can this really be?  Or are the newspapers up to their often bad
> standard of journalism? :-)
> 

Well, In an unclassified paper by Robert L. Forward for DOD, he predicts that
the production of anti-hydrogen snow could be a reality in a short period of
time. He cites (incorrectly) the efficiency of the anti proton source at
Fermilab as evidence that some level of economy can be reached. Really, if
magnetic confinement fusion can be realised, it would be much cheaper, and
very much less dangerous. A bomb, however, does not need to be cheap...

							-Ben Burch