Exotic Matter and Tachyons

[Enola Straight]

Exotic Matter
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exotic_matter
Tachyons
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tachyon

Due to negative inertia, when you push on an object of exotic matter, it moves into the push inatead of away.

Due to negative and/or imaginary mass, a Tachyon accelerates away from lightspeed to infinite speed as it loses kinetic energy.

Is there a connection?

[Nephtys]

Both are completely conjectural types of matter at the moment. I wouldn't place much belief in those said properties. Negative inertia? How does /that/ work? Negative mass too..?

[Admiral Valdemar]

Exotic matter can have many strange properties. We still don't conclusively know if antimatter falls down or goes up away from gravity, though we assume it is the former. The negative mass and inertia examples are theoretical for now, but that's how the models predict they'd react if such substances existed.

[kheegster]

If antimatter literally has 'negative' matter, then for some antimatter of mass -m,

F = -ma

a = -F/m

i.e. the acceleration would be in the opposing direction of the applied force...

[Kuroneko]

Kheegan, antimatter has positive mass. There is no standard nominclature for what 'matter of negative mass' would be, but 'exotic' is the most frequent adjective.

[wolveraptor]

Exotic matter can have many strange properties. We still don't conclusively know if antimatter falls down or goes up away from gravity, though we assume it is the former. The negative mass and inertia examples are theoretical for now, but that's how the models predict they'd react if such substances existed.

I'm pretty sure that exotic matter is wholey separate from antimatter.

[CoyoteNature]

Isn't the negative end that falls in a black hole negative matter errr energy?

You know when you get Hawking radiation.

[Kuroneko]

Isn't the negative end that falls in a black hole negative matter errr energy? You know when you get Hawking radiation.

Yes, but having virtual particles of negative energy is quite a bit different than having real particles of negative energy. Virtual particles aren't directly observable, for one. Exotic matter would be, assumed it actually exists.

[Admiral Valdemar]

I'm pretty sure that exotic matter is wholey separate from antimatter.

That depends on your personal definition. Some would consider AM, Bose-Einstein condensates and metallic hydrogen and superfluids exotic, yet we can make them. We cannot make the more bizarre forms we theorise.

[Enola Straight]

Another thing about exotic matter rather than antimatter:

Unlike the massive amounts of energy released in a M/AM reaction (due to E=mc^2), adding one gram of matter to -1 gram of exotic matter leaves zero...stuff just dissapears to nothing!

[Sriad]

I'm pretty sure that exotic matter is wholey separate from antimatter.

That depends on your personal definition. Some would consider AM, Bose-Einstein condensates and metallic hydrogen and superfluids exotic, yet we can make them. We cannot make the more bizarre forms we theorise.

In this case however, Exotic Matter has the particular property of negative mass. While the others are certainly "exotic" states of matter, they are states of perfectly ordinary matter with positive mass and the appropriate related reactions to gravity and force. Exotic Matter OTOH is not theorized from particular knowlage we have of physics as is the case with BE condensates, superfluids, etc, but by playing with the mathematical properties of matter.

[Ender]

Another thing about exotic matter rather than antimatter:

Unlike the massive amounts of energy released in a M/AM reaction (due to E=mc^2), adding one gram of matter to -1 gram of exotic matter leaves zero...stuff just dissapears to nothing!

-1 gram would have a tachyonic velocity, and thus, if my understanding is correct, would annihilate upon colliding with matter, the exotic matter becoming a wave, and the equivlent mass energy released.

So it would leave nothing... except a big ass crater.

[Kuroneko]

Tachyons have imaginary mass, not negative mass.

[Ender]

Tachyons have imaginary mass, not negative mass.

ah, my mistake.

[Ender]

Ghetteo edit - but is the rest of my understanding - that the collision of a tachyon and baryon would effectively be annihilation?

[Kuroneko]

It's doubtable that anyone knows. But if one takes E = γmc² seriously with γ = (1-(v/c)²)^(1/2), v > c and m imaginary, then E < 0. One could interpret this as tachyon + bradyon = boom, but a decidedly lesser boom than particle + antiparticle, since some of the rest energy of the bradyon matter would be negated by the tachyon. On the other hand, one could take energy E to be imaginary instead, but what in the world a "complex energy" would mean that results from a bradyon and tachyon colliding, I have no idea.

[Ford Prefect]

I thought that tachyons didn't interact with bradyonic matter, though if it is possible (for them to interact), then all the better for me.

[Gil Hamilton]

It's doubtable that anyone knows. But if one takes E = γmc² seriously with γ = (1-(v/c)²)^(1/2), v > c and m imaginary, then E < 0. One could interpret this as tachyon + bradyon = boom, but a decidedly lesser boom than particle + antiparticle, since some of the rest energy of the bradyon matter would be negated by the tachyon. On the other hand, one could take energy E to be imaginary instead, but what in the world a "complex energy" would mean that results from a bradyon and tachyon colliding, I have no idea.

I'm pretty sure "complex energy" is like regular energy but lives in a loft in SoHo. Whatever it actually is, it's bound to be very odd, I'm sure. Have you heard if any scientists have any serious leads on actually detecting tachyons, so we can find some and blow it up in a meaningful and helpful way?

[Kuroneko]

I thought that tachyons didn't interact with bradyonic matter, though if it is possible (for them to interact), then all the better for me.

Certainly not under the standard model, under which the only tachyons are virtual particles. Real tachyons would not be localizable unless a new model is proposed.

I'm pretty sure "complex energy" is like regular energy but lives in a loft in SoHo. Whatever it actually is, it's bound to be very odd, I'm sure. Have you heard if any scientists have any serious leads on actually detecting tachyons, so we can find some and blow it up in a meaningful and helpful way?

Some wonder whether we already have--electron and muon neutrinos in particular (tachyons can't be charged because of Cherenkov radiation). That topic is somewhat controversial, since it doesn't mesh with the standard model at all.

[Gil Hamilton]

I thought neutrinos hovered just under the speed of light.

[Kuroneko]

I thought neutrinos hovered just under the speed of light.

They are marginally subluminal in the standard model, yes, hence my comment that the proposal is controversial.