The atomic bomb converts matter into energy so why hasn't someone found a way yet to reverse the process and convert energy into matter? What is the stumbling block?

satguru

I'm no scientist, but as it's easier to destroy something than build it, it follows that if you put enough energy into an atom to split it it can become reduced to energy. But to coalesce energy into anything more than a random blob, like in a theoretical black hole model, would be infinitely more difficult as what would you make from the energy, and how? I like your questions though, they make a lot of sense. Sep 23 04, 6:27 PM

jbean

The stumbling block is economic. It's infinitely more profitable to turn matter into energy. Ask any oil company executive. Sep 24 04, 2:58 PM

gmackematix

As Satguru says it is easier to destroy that to construct. If you apply energy to a cue ball you can easily smash a triangle of pool balls into a random arrangement, the supplied energy being lost as heat energy from the friction of the balls on the table. The problem is that as energy is applied particles tend to become more disorganised and useful energy is lost and scattered as heat. This is a characteristic known as "entropy". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entropy Sep 25 04, 6:09 AM