AAWSAP DIRD, Aneutronic Fusion Propulsion I, November 2010

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propulsion has two major hurdles that are currently under investigation at CERN and at
the Brookhaven National Laboratory.
•
Antimatter Generation:
Only minute quantities of antimatter have ever been
produced. Antiprotons are produced in accelerators and in some radioactive decay
schemes. CERN has had an active program since 2000 in antimatter detection and
collection. 25
Studies of antimatter production will continue during the upcoming
decade due to their importance as a dense storage medium for energy and for their
use in particle physics experiments. Current patents should help decrease the costs
of production of antihydrogen.
Three programs have been part of the CERN
Antimatter Factory:
-
ASACUSA: Antiprotons were directed through helium to generate atoms of
helium-2 with antiprotons replacing the orbiting electrons.
-
ATHENA: An antiproton beam was fired through positrons generated from the
decay of Na-22. To generate the antiprotons, a proton synchrotron is used to
collide protons on an iridium surface. Antiprotons produced in the collision are
directed with electromagnets into an antimatter decelerator and captured. By
2002, ATHENA made 106 antihydrogen atoms in this way. The estimated cost of
generating antihydrogen using current technology is about $65 million/gram.
-
ATRAP: This device used a Penning trap to combine cold antiprotons and
positrons to create antihydrogen.
•
Antimatter Storage: Penning traps and Penning-Malmberg traps have been used
to contain antihydrogen for several weeks using a combination of RF and magnetic
fields. 26 Further research into antimatter storage will lead to the ability to transport
and store nanogram or microgram quantities of antimatter.
Speculative Technologies: The Heim Quantum Theory
Burkhard Heim was a theoretical physicist that explored a new theory to link quantum
mechanics and the Theory of Relativity. 27 He postulated that time and distance are
quantized and that matter and energy can be described in terms of 12 dimensions. His
worked was followed by the Extended Heim Theory from Walter Droscher and Jochem
Hauser. 28 The Heim Theory is able to predict, with a high degree of accuracy, the mass
and charge of almost all subatomic particles. New particles, such as the neutral
electron, are also predicted. The relationship of his work to space propulsion involves
the prediction of a quantum gravity force mediated through graviphotons created from
the interaction of matter and virtual particles. Droscher and Hauser have proposed the
use of graviphotons to provide propulsion in space with no ejection of matter to
generate thrust.
There are few peer-reviewed articles on Heim Quantum Theory, and physicists disagree
with the formulation of the theory and its results. Nevertheless, this would be the first
method that would not require the transfer of momentum by ejecting mass to generate
thrust. The Heim Working Group and the work of Drescher and Hauser should be
followed for possible application to spacecraft.
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