5 ms·

From a different source... (One possible barrier is a magnetic field of 50nT at or beyond 4 km. To create such a field using an electromagnet requires very lar

From a different source... (One possible barrier is a magnetic field of 50nT at or beyond 4 km. To create such a field using an electromagnet requires very large-scale engineering, for example a circular electromagnet 300m in radius carrying 10^5 amp-turns. While such an electromagnet is not impossible, it would likely be so massive that the relatively modest thrust coupled from the solar wind would provide accelera tion too slow to be of interest. http://earthweb.ess.washington.edu/space/PlasmaMag/ http://earthweb.ess.washington.edu/space/PlasmaMag/ So we just need some novel superconductors, a portable fusion plant, and then we’re set! /s More depth: http://www.niac.usra.edu/files/studies/final_report/860Slough.pdf http://www.niac.usra.edu/files/studies/final_report/860Sloug... Edit: Corrected formatting errors. Thanks for the heads up!

marcosdumay 9y ago
Well, it's a novel superconductor or a portable fusion plant. Still, when you pasted it here, the 10^5 A-turns become 105 A-turns. For anybody that looks at it and thinks "hum... seems almost viable", it's just a formatting error :) EDIT: Oh, but the proposed conductor is plasma composed of solar wind particles. It is reasonable to get a coil much larger than 300m with those.
stcredzero 9y ago
So we just need some novel superconductors, a portable fusion plant, and then we’re set! Almost anything you can make work with a suicidally unstable hypothetical power plant, you could also make work with a suicidally concentrated beamed power system.
Dylan16807 9y ago
> a circular electromagnet 300m in radius carrying 10^5 amp-turns. > So we just need some novel superconductors, a portable fusion plant, and then we’re set! /s Those numbers are for when you're not using the Plasma Magnet. And that's one tenth the number of amp-turns you have in a typical MRI, but on a bigger loop. It wouldn't require special power sources.

marcosdumay 9y ago

Well, it's a novel superconductor or a portable fusion plant. Still, when you pasted it here, the 10^5 A-turns become 105 A-turns. For anybody that looks at it and thinks "hum... seems almost viable", it's just a formatting error :) EDIT: Oh, but the proposed conductor is plasma composed of solar wind particles. It is reasonable to get a coil much larger than 300m with those.

stcredzero 9y ago

So we just need some novel superconductors, a portable fusion plant, and then we’re set! Almost anything you can make work with a suicidally unstable hypothetical power plant, you could also make work with a suicidally concentrated beamed power system.

Dylan16807 9y ago

> a circular electromagnet 300m in radius carrying 10^5 amp-turns. > So we just need some novel superconductors, a portable fusion plant, and then we’re set! /s Those numbers are for when you're not using the Plasma Magnet. And that's one tenth the number of amp-turns you have in a typical MRI, but on a bigger loop. It wouldn't require special power sources.