\" Dan Brown\'s fictitious \'Vatican Antimatter bomb\' moves closer to reality \

Question

"Dan Brown's fictitious 'Vatican Antimatter bomb' moves closer to reality" was the headline of a newpaper article in late November, 2010. The headline refers to a fictitious device in the novelAngels & Demonsand the real-world creation and trapping of some anti-atoms at the European Organization Nuclear Research (CERN).

CERN has been producing antiprotons for decades. According to CERN, they have producedabout 1 billionth of a gram over the last 10 years.

A small fraction of these antiprotons have been combined with positrons to create anti-hydrogen. Of those anti-atoms, "We've been able to trap about 38," said Rob Thompson, one of 42 co-authors of the scientific paper in which the anti-atom trapping was reported.

A)If 38 anti-hydrogen atoms were to annihilate with matter, how much energy would be produced?

Explanation / Answer

a) m*c^2 =
= 38*(0.000911+1.627)*10^-27*2.998*2.998*10^16 = 556.003*10^-11 J

b) m*c^2= 10^-12*2.998*2.998*10^16 = 8.988*10^4 J

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