4 ms·

For more history on this, see the magnetic sail proposed by Dana Andrews and Robert Zubrin in 1988: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetic_sail https://en.wiki

For more history on this, see the magnetic sail proposed by Dana Andrews and Robert Zubrin in 1988: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetic_sail https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetic_sail They found that it wasn't very efficient for acceleration but could be used for braking (for example by a light craft propelled by laser to another solar system). Also tacking works by angling the force to increase or decrease orbital velocity. This assumes that plasma drives can be used for acceleration, and I think that they probably can with the right geometry/technique and were abandoned prematurely. And they obviously can when used with something like nuclear power where avoiding the need to carry propellant is more important than efficiency.

thatcherc 9y ago
The coolest part about decelerating with such a system is that when you encounter the solar wind and deflect it at high speeds, you're going to generate EM radiation by accelerating the ions in the wind. So, under the right circumstances, the inhabitants of the solar system you're braking into will see an enormous glowing bubble in space as you arrive.