Antimatter is an exotic material made from particles that are the reverse of, or complement to, the particles of normal matter. When matter and antimatter meet, they annihilate each other, releasing tremendous amounts of energy. (TOS: "Obsession")
- In VOY: "Flesh and Blood" they create antiphotons, which do not make sense in real-world particle physics because photons are their own antiparticle. So "antimatter", or at least "antiphotons", may be defined in terms of particle properties not yet discovered.
Matter-antimatter reactors[]
Matter–antimatter (M/AM) reactors have been used by Humans since the Colossus reactor went online in 2147 at Argyre Planitia on Mars. (Starfleet Museum)
M/AM reactors have been used to power warp engines on Earth Starfleet ships since the 2150s, replacing the use of fusion reactors.
- The date is given as 2152 in the Starfleet Museum. The Enterprise (NX-01) is launched in 2151 in the Enterprise series.
Antimatter weapons[]
Antimatter can be stored and transported in magnetic bottles. These can be used as improvised explosives comparable to 10000 cobalt bombs. (TOS: "Obsession")
- James Kirk claims that a pound of antimatter is sufficient to destroy the system—whereas the Sun happily annihilates 4 million tonnes of matter per second without any problems. Kirk's statement either is a wild exaggeration or indicates that 23rd-century antimatter is far more potent than the real-world equivalent.
Photon torpedoes use magnetically contained matter and antimatter in their warheads.
External links[]
- Antimatter article at Memory Alpha, the canon Star Trek wiki.
- Antimatter article at Memory Beta, the non-canon Star Trek wiki.
- Antimatter article at Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.