\nFragile particles rarely seen in our Universe have been merged with ordinary electrons to make a new form of matter. Di-positronium, as the new molecule is known, was predicted to exist in 1946 but has remained elusive to science.<\/p>\n
Now, a US team has created thousands of the molecules by merging electrons with their antimatter equivalent: positrons. The discovery, reported in the journal Nature, is a key step in the creation of ultra-powerful lasers known as gamma-ray annihilation lasers.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Which have military applications, of course (“set gamma-ray annihilation lasers to ‘deep fry,’ Mr. Sulu!”), but could also be a big jump-start on laser-triggered fusion energy generation. Spiffy!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Any article about “di-positronium” and “anti-matter” and “gamma-ray annihilation lasers” has got to be worth reading! Fragile particles rarely seen in our Universe have been merged with ordinary electrons to…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[6,360],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11351","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-science","category-media-tv-star-trek"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":12452,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2008\/04\/29\/whats_more_cool_than_summ.html","url_meta":{"origin":11351,"position":0},"title":"What’s more cool than summoning a lightning bolt?","author":"***Dave","date":"Tue 29-Apr-08 2:49pm","format":false,"excerpt":"Summoning a lightning bolt with a freaking laser!\u00a0 The researchers used their laser pulses to rip away negatively charged electrons attached to molecules in the air around thunderstorms. These freed...","rel":"","context":"In "Science & Nature"","block_context":{"text":"Science & Nature","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/science"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":43,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2003\/07\/07\/what_next_dispo.html","url_meta":{"origin":11351,"position":1},"title":"What next, disposable bombs?","author":"***Dave","date":"Mon 7-Jul-03 2:17pm","format":false,"excerpt":"We have disposable plates, disposable lighters, disposable flashlights, and disposable cell phones. Now comes word that the US Navy is looking at disposable lasers for anti-ship and anti-missile weaponry. 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Google+: View post on Google+","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":12359,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2008\/05\/21\/spotting_a_supernova.html","url_meta":{"origin":11351,"position":3},"title":"Spotting a supernova","author":"***Dave","date":"Wed 21-May-08 1:30pm","format":false,"excerpt":"Scientists say they've actually caught a supernova in the act. 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Lasers shooting from the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1992,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2002\/03\/29\/september_13_19.html","url_meta":{"origin":11351,"position":5},"title":"September 13, 1999","author":"***Dave","date":"Fri 29-Mar-02 9:22pm","format":false,"excerpt":"What can you say about a show like Space: 1999? It was the first big SF show after the original Star Trek (the abortive UFO doesn't count). 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