Thread: Electromagnetic Particle Manipulation

This is my first post, and even though I like science, I'm not a professional scientist or engineer. Sorry if this is in the wrong section or something

I have been thinking for a while, if particle accelerators can accelerate particles with electromagnetic fields, can electromagnetic fields be used to manipulate particles in other circumstances? If so, atoms and therefor matter could be manipulated by controlling the particles that compose it. Matter could be moved, disassembled down to quark gluon plasma, or even rearranged atomically to create any other substance. Along with these applications, particles like photons and theoretical gravitons could be manipulated to control their respective forces (light, gravity).

This is so simple, I'm surprised no one has looked into it. If someone has and I'm unaware that this is all rhetorical, let me know. also tell me what you think, problems with the idea, or solutions to those problems.

Originally Posted by 21st Centurion

This is my first post, and even though I like science, I'm not a professional scientist or engineer. Sorry if this is in the wrong section or something

I have been thinking for a while, if particle accelerators can accelerate particles with electromagnetic fields, can electromagnetic fields be used to manipulate particles in other circumstances? If so, atoms and therefor matter could be manipulated by controlling the particles that compose it. Matter could be moved, disassembled down to quark gluon plasma, or even rearranged atomically to create any other substance. Along with these applications, particles like photons and theoretical gravitons could be manipulated to control their respective forces (light, gravity).

This is so simple, I'm surprised no one has looked into it. If someone has and I'm unaware that this is all rhetorical, let me know. also tell me what you think, problems with the idea, or solutions to those problems.

First welcome to the forum.

A particle accelerator is a device that uses electromagnetic fields to propel charged particles to high speeds and to contain them in well-defined beams.^[1] Large accelerators are best known for their use in particle physics as colliders (e.g. the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN, RHIC, and Tevatron). Other kinds of particle accelerators are used in a large variety of applications, including particle therapy for oncological purposes, and as synchrotron light sources for the study of condensed matter physics. There are currently more than 30,000 accelerators in operation around the world.^[2]

The key here is charged particles. Electromagnetic fields can't accelerate uncharged particles such as neutrons. Also, electromagnetic forces can't really over come the strong force in an atomic nucleus without first smashing other particles into it. That's not really the control you are talking about is it? If there was a simple way to manipulate matter the way your trying to picture it, it would have been done by now.

Thanks. What exactly is the strong force holding atoms together? Nuclear force? If it's that strong, would manipulating the particles that are charged in an atom move the rest of the atom, or smash it apart? If not, is there a way to manipulate the force holding the atom together, or manipulate quark gluon plasma when it's produced by the current method (superheating)? QUESTIONS!!!

Originally Posted by 21st Centurion

Thanks. What exactly is the strong force holding atoms together? Nuclear force? If it's that strong, would manipulating the particles that are charged in an atom move the rest of the atom, or smash it apart? If not, is there a way to manipulate the force holding the atom together, or manipulate quark gluon plasma when it's produced by the current method (superheating)? QUESTIONS!!!

That superheating you are talking about is over 4 trillion degrees Celsius and there is nothing simple about creating and dealing with those kind of temperatures.

Quark

*Sigh. One day someone will find out how to manipulate particles. Then they'll use that technology to build weapons of mass destruction XD Thanks for the insight. Maybe robots. Crazy small, subatomic robots...