Due
to the reactive nature of antimatter with normal matter, it has to be
stored in a different way. All contact with the matter counterparts of
the stored antimatter must be avoided.
However it is this specificity that allows a very cunning method to be
used to contain it. Generally the federation only uses antimatter
hydrogen, which contains one anti-proton and one anti-electron
(positron), and all contact with protons and electrons must be avoided.
There is one material that antimatter hydrogen can safely come into to
contact with, and that is neutronium, as neutronium only contains
neutrons, and that the anti-hydrogen does not contain anti-neutrons, no
reaction can occur. It is by placing antimatter hydrogen in neutronium
(mass-less preferably), that antimatter storage is facilitated, it is
easy, and as it is such a strong material for a container, also means
the anti-hydrogen, can be stored in its metallic state, allowing far
greater fuel density (in metallic form density is in the order of
1.15g/cm^3).
The cons with this is that container must have backup shielding increase
it breaches, and also must have good temperature control as metallic
hydrogen is only meta-stable at high temperatures, cooling also reduces
the pressure required. Driver coild material cannot be used to chill the
compartment as in normal liquid hydrogen, as it would react with the
antimatter. Few other types of antimatter are created, if they contain
neutrons the above method can not be used, and the antimatter has to be
kept separate by containment fields, with very large antimatter atoms
neutronium boxes can again be used, as the electron shells around the
anti-atom prevent contact with walls of the container, but care has to
be taken to avoid ionization which removes these protective electron
shells, also the stored material should not collapse into a Bose
Einstein state, in which case the nuclei would also be exposed for
reaction. |