“Unlocking the Cosmos: How Antimatter Engines Could Revolutionize Interstellar Travel”

Generally, this is achieved using devices like optical tweezers—intense laser beams that harness light to capture a particle. However, this method doesn’t function like a Tupperware container, where one can simply gather antimatter particles until there’s sufficient quantity to assemble an engine. “[S]toring solid or liquid antimatter in contact with any state of matter is unfeasible,” Omira and Mourad stated. “[A]ntimatter continuously undergoes annihilation with matter at rapid rates. Hence, the sole and most effective approach is to utilize magnetic, electrostatic, or electromagnetic suspension of solid antimatter in a vacuum.” These suspension methods have thus far only managed to maintain a handful of particles for brief durations and demand immense amounts of energy to accomplish even that.

Mourad and Omira propose that, in spite of these hurdles, a multitude of additional domains in aerospace physics will be poised to bolster antimatter technology relatively soon. They note that significant strides are being made in cooling and heat-resistant materials, and that 3D printing could transform how these materials are customized. Furthermore, while several governments and institutions globally have invested resources into antimatter and space exploration research, the pair asserts that increased funding could expedite this research process.

The researchers outline a sequence of priorities for future antimatter propulsion research. The initial step, which is of utmost importance, is “establishing a stable antimatter production line with much greater storage capacities”—an endeavor we currently lack the resources to undertake. Subsequently, the storage must be compatible with spacecraft, not just massive and secure laboratories on Earth.

It’s somewhat akin to a remark made by a character portrayed by Brad Pitt in the film Ocean’s Eleven: “This is like trying to construct a house of cards on the deck of a speeding boat.” However, the iconic crew ultimately succeeds in their improbable heist—that’s the enchantment of cinema.

Mourad and Omira adopt a more cautious perspective. “If sufficient funding and efforts were directed towards furthering research on this technology,” they assert, “and a solution to harness annihilation’s energy was discovered, interstellar and human interplanetary missions might no longer be regarded as impossible.” Indeed, merely labeling them as “not impossible” carries significant weight in the current context of antimatter research.

Caroline Delbert is a writer, avid reader, and contributing editor at Pop Mech. She also has a passion for a wide range of subjects. Her preferred topics include nuclear energy, cosmology, the mathematics of everyday phenomena, and the overarching philosophy of it all.