/sci/ - Science & Math

>>11484272
>>11484310
Nearly all antimatter production on Earth isn't optimised for yield and is byproducts because storing it for longer than a few seconds is difficult and expensive.
In space you'd use it as soon as making it and don't need to bother with the messy business of storage.
Positrons are the simplest to generate but they have the same mass as electrons which is ~1800x less than a proton/antiproton, with an equivalent amount less thrust per particle. Still they are the best currently.
Currently the tech is immature and has plenty of potential for advancement as it's mainly an engineering rather than science problem now. It offers the best chance for constant acceleration spacetravel, nothing else simply has the energy density required for interstellar travel.
Even with small improvements in yield efficiency we get closer to a viable propulsion system where absurd amounts of deltaV can measured in kgs of noble gas fuel.
Plenty of challenges and not just with generation but it's an exciting field that's underfunded.