Air Force Researching Antimatter Weapons

mlmitton writes "The San Francisco Chronicle is reporting that the Air Force is actively pursuing antimatter weapons. Such weapons would easy eclipse nuclear weapons in power, e.g., 1 gram of antimatter would equal 23 space shuttle fuel tanks of energy. Perhaps more interesting, after an initial inquiry by the Chronicle in the summer, the Air Force issued a gag order that prohibits any Air Force employee from discussing antimatter research or funding."

Comments

Relative Measurements

[TrollBridge]

"1 gram of antimatter would equal 23 space shuttle fuel tanks of energy."

But what I really want to know is how many Libraries of Congress it could contain.

Units of Measurement

[CraigoFL]

Such weapons would easy eclipse nuclear weapons in power, e.g., 1 gram of antimatter would equal 23 space shuttle fuel tanks of energy

How many Libraries of Congress would that power?

Seriously, why use such a esoteric unit of measurement, especially when you're going to compare it to nuclear weapons? Would describing it in terms of megatons be too much to ask?

Re:How about research them...

[Carnildo]

Actually, making antimatter *can* be a net plus in energy. Synthesizing the antimatter out of thin air takes MC^2 energy, but reacting it with matter releases 2*MC^2 -- you don't need to synthesize the regular matter, but you still get the energy from reacting it!