Wolfe vindicated!

Gerry Quinn · 06 Dec 2011, 14:19 · from 2011-December.txt.gz

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From: gerry at bindweed.com (Gerry Quinn)
Date: Tue, 6 Dec 2011 14:19:59 -0000
Subject: (urth) Wolfe vindicated!
In-Reply-To: <Pine.LNX.4.64.1112060850310.9447 at orpheus.qimr.edu.au>
References: <SNT123-W1509BE5F5966ABDFE6B776CFDE0 at phx.gbl><81102A3297754C758B32676A61DCCCE7@Rover>
	<Pine.LNX.4.64.1112060850310.9447 at orpheus.qimr.edu.au>
Message-ID: <851C6CEEAAF149CF974D9E171841FFFE@Rover>

From: David Duffy 

> Hajdukovic concludes:

> the gravitational properties of antimatter [will] be tested in CERN before 
> the end of the current decade (Kellerbauer et al. 2008) and that the 
> recent theoretical considerations give some support to the gravitational 
> repulsion between matter and antimatter (Villata 2011).

> So, was this idea already floating around in the 60-70's?
It?s been floating around since antimatter was theorised / discovered.  It?s very difficult to test because you really want a heavy antimatter particle with no electric charge, i.e. a cold antimatter atom.  AFAIK they are working on making them.   
It basically kills general relativity if it?s correct (and not before time IMO).  The interesting thing as I see it is that we know energy (e.g. light) is definitely attracted / bent towards the gravitational field of matter.  If the opposite applies to antimatter, this is a huge asymmetry, as there is no anti-light.  If it bends towards both, that?s... puzzling.  
One example of a problem: if antimatter repels matter and you could switch at will between a mix of matter and antimatter and a box of photons, you could switch gravity on and off, because a box of light is definitely attracted to matter.  That seems hard to mesh with the concept of gravity as a long range field.  Though maybe I just discovered how flyers work ;-)
- Gerry Quinn 
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