Antihydrogen - a new energy source ?
The answer is: NO !
because:
- there are no antimatter resources in our world
- antimatter has to be created in a energy-waisting process
efficiency: 0.000 000 01 % !!!
- storing antiprotons in magnetic bottles has an efficiency of 1 %
- antihydrogen has to be produced and stored inside magnetic bottles
- the energy in matter-antimatter annihilation has to be converted into
- electricity
- propulsion
- ...
While antihydrogen production at rest is hoped to be solved within the
next years,
there is no meaningful idea how to use energy set free by annihilation.
StarTreks warp engine may be a clever idea, but in real life it wouldn't
work.
Anyhow, the overall efficiency would be smaller than
0.000 000 000 1 % !!!
So, it's better to use the available energy 'directly', even an old
steam engine has an efficiency of 10 %.
Some examples:
- All antiprotons produced at CERN in one year carry an amount of energy
which is capable to light a 100 W light bulb for
3 seconds
- The world production of electricity converted into antiprotons
would theoretically light this 100 W light bulb for
95.6 hours
- All known coal, oil, gas resources would result in a number of
antiprotons which would be equivalent to the energy needed to drive
10 small cars from Hamburg to Munich and back
Detailed calculations
CERN PS-Complex
- 10 MWyears (=3.15*10^14 J) are needed to produce
10^14 antiprotons
- 10^12 antiprotons would be stored in magnetic bottles
- annihilation of 10^12 antiprotons would give 300 J
- 300 J are able to light a 100 W light bulb for 3 seconds
World electricity in 1993
- 10.050*10^12 kWh = 1147260 MWyears would produce
1.147*10^19 antiprotons
- 1.147*10^17 antiprotons would be stored in magnetic bottles
- annihilation of 1.147*10^17 antiprotons would give 34.4 MJ
- 34.4 MJ are able to light a 100 W light bulb for
95.6 hours
The originally given value of 5.8 minutes was wrong due to an error in the
encyclopedia
Known coal, oil, gas ressources
- 3.287*10^22 J = 1.04*10^9 MWyears
would produce 1.04*10^22 antiprotons
- 1.04*10^20 antiprotons would be stored in magnetic bottles
- annihilation of 1.04*10^20 antiprotons would give
31.34 GJ
- 31.34 GJ are able to drive 10 cars over 1500 km