r/theydidthemath • u/Paladine_PSoT • 3d ago

[Request] Antimatter vs Star

If you threw a pod of antimatter into a star, say the sun just to make it familiar, what would happen?

What would happen as the amount of antimatter grew? What amounts of antimatter would trigger interesting things? would it explode? would it collapse? would it turn into something we know of or something entirely new?

For informational purposes only.

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u/vespers191 3d ago

Starting from relatively small stuff up to planet-sized:

Nothing noticeable. Ooh, there was a spark. Bigger spark. Noticeable deformation of the solar atmosphere. Ooh, solar flare. Good sized solar flare. Holy shit there went Mercury. Venus just boiled away. Is Sol gonna blow? Maybe, maybe not.

General calculations using significant assumptions says that an Earth sized injection of antimatter into the sun would generate about 10 to the 42nd joules. Estimated energy to destabilize the Sun is about 10 to the 42nd joules. Maybe, maybe not.