How could we produce electricity thanks to antimatter?

Imagine we had an easy way to produce antimatter, we could use it for interstellar travel, deadly weapons or more; but I've thought: How could we use it to produce electricity?

As Antimatter annihilates itself with normal antimatter producing a huge amount of energy, I thought we could harvest its potential to make power and fortunately replace petrol, oil, and polluting substances that now are mostly used to power the world. Therefore, how could we harvest antimatter efficiently to produce power?

When antimatter and normal matter annihilates themselves, they produce a large amount of gamma rays, which would be absorbed by special materials (which ones?) that would convert them to heat (which can easily make electricity). But as antimatter annihilation makes a lot of gamma rays, we couldn't place the absorbing materials near the antimatter annihilation source, because the gamma rays would be so intense that they would destroy the absorbing materials. This would mean that we should put the absorbing materials far enough for them to absorb gamma rays without getting themselves destroyed. Unfortunately, we would then only harvest a fraction of the annihilation great potential. What are the structures or solutions that could enable this "project" to work?

Maybe this concept is completely absurd and wrong, do you have another concept? I've thought that we could combine the destroying power of antimatter with nuclear fission and nuclear fusion to ease the fission of (for example) uranium 238 which would start the fusion of a D-T pellet (deuterium-tritium) and produce heat that is converted into electricity easily. But how could we sustain the fusion? Actually, this concept mainly is to use antimatter to help the start of a nuclear fusion and hopefully to sustain it.

I just don't know and I would very pleased if you answered the most of the questions I asked as possible, giving your theories and concepts even if they have nothing to do with the ones I've said. Thank you!

posted almost 7 years ago

Mathis‭

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