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I first had this Idea many years ago, but seldom thought of it,
and
was reminded of it by the linked Idea.
The Earth has a HUGE magnetic field that protects the
biosphere
from many cosmic rays. Not all of them, but many. Logically,
a
space-ship should have the same, if it can.
How?
Well,
suppose we build the ship as a hollow cylinder, about as
wide
as it is tall, and make the walls of that cylinder thick enough to
hold all the crew and supply compartments. That gives us two
walls, one on the outside of the cylinder, and one on the inside.
I
have an earlier-posted aircraft-body idea (linked) that is not
hugely dissimilar from this one, so refer to it for a better
picture. (The linked page has a linked picture, with a
description that likely deserves to be [marked-for-tagline]: "I
can
see it, and I *still* don't believe it!") This spaceship cylinder,
though, is a LOT larger than the aircraft body. Please keep
that in mind.
We actually want to double-up on those walls. What we now do
is
make sure those walls are thoroughly insulated, and lower their
temperatures so they become superconductive. The next
paragraph concerns the outermost and innermost walls, with
respect to the overall cylindrical spaceship.
We can now generate a very powerful magnetic field, using the
spaceship walls as a giant "single-turn coil". The strongest part
of
the magnetic field is in the hollow of the cylinder.
The inner parts of the doubled walls are also superconductive,
but
we don't run a current through them. They exist to prevent the
magnetic field generated by the outer walls from penetrating
and
causing problems in the crew and storage compartments.
Per the Inverse-Square Law, the farther away from the
spaceship,
the weaker its magnetic field will be. Also, the stronger the
magnetic field AT the spaceship, the huger will be the overall
magnetic field, in terms of being able to affect cosmic rays.
If the overall field is large enough, the path of those charged
particles will TEND to be curved such that they pass through the
hollow of the cylindrical spaceship, completely bypassing the
crew
and storage compartments.
Reminding Idea
Cosmic_20ray_20protection
As mentioned in the main text. [Vernon, May 29 2015]
Cylindrical aircraft body
Cylindrical_20Aircraft_20Body
As mentioned in the main text. [Vernon, May 29 2015]
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Actually, I think you want to power inner and
outer coils. If the same current is in both in the
same direction, the net magnetic field between
them will be close to 0. If the width of the
passenger compartment is small in relation to the
diameter of the cylinder fields can cancel very
well. As the curvature is greater in comparison to
the size, the field will be stronger, the magnetic
field will increase near the inner and outer walls. |
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An unpowered superconductor would act as a
Faraday cage with doesn't stop static magnetic
fields. A steal box can shield it's contents from a
magnetic field, but it would surely saturate at the
levels that we're talking about. Then again, some
ferromagnetic shielding might be just the thing to
get rid of or reduce the uneven uneven magnetic
filed between the inner and outer walls. |
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[scad mientist], I specified using 2 sets of walls partly
because I was unsure about there being zero field inside
the "outer" wall. Also, I think you are misinterpreting
something (but easy to do without a diagram). Here's
an ASCII sketch representing the description in the main
text:
//=\\ . . . . . //=\\
||=|| . . . . . ||=||
||=|| . . . . . ||=||
||=|| . . . . . ||=||
||=|| . . . . . ||=||
\\=// . . . . . . \\=//
The = signs represent the crew and storage
compartment regions of the cylinder.
The dots occupying the interior hollow of the overall
cylinder should be ignored; they are only there so space
the cylinder walls apart.
The leftmost and rightmost vertical bars are the SAME
outermost wall of the overall cylinder.
The vertical bars adjacent to the dots are the SAME
innermost wall of the overall cylinder. |
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While not specifically stated in the main text, a cylinder
has an END-edge, which in this case is implied by the
various slash characters. The innermost and outermost
walls connect at the top and bottom of the cylinder
(not portrayed). |
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In the main text is the phrase, "the inner parts of the
doubled walls", and you can see it in the above sketch
as the vertical bars NOT previously described here.
These walls are, electrically speaking, entirely separate
from the outermost and innermost walls (but also
connect near the top and bottom of the overall
cylinder.) |
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Now here is an ASCII sketch of an alternative, missing
the "inner parts of the doubled walls":
/=\ . . . . . /=\
|=| . . . . . |=|
|=| . . . . . |=|
|=| . . . . . |=|
|=| . . . . . |=|
\=/ . . . . . \=/ |
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If all the current flows in the wall, and there is no
magnetic field inside the wall, where the crew and
storage compartments are, then there is simply no need
for the doubled walls previously mentioned. But if
there IS an interior magnetic field, the occupants of the
spaceship need to be protected from it, and that is
what the extra walls are for (as specified in the main
text). |
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I believe the Borg have a similar solution, but it's merely a double-wall outside the hull, packed with cats. |
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Very, very tightly packed ... and open to vacuum. |
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//The Earth has a HUGE magnetic field that protects the biosphere
from many cosmic rays. Not all of them, but many. // |
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That depends on the definition of a "cosmic ray". Most are highly
energetic gamma rays which aren't deflected by magnetic fields. |
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Shirley that would lower the efficacy? As cats contain water. Removing the water would lower the numbers of atoms between you and cosmic rays.... |
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Alternatively, the less water the the cats contain the lower the chance of hits by a gamma rays turning one of them green, angry and very large, then using the outside of the warp drive as a scratching post, leading to the...usual consequences. |
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If any of this is possible where is the vast amount of power
going to come from to make it work? From the cosmic rays
themselves? |
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Would it not be better to do this electrostatically? A
charged mesh around the ship should either deflect
cosmic rays away, or pull them onto the mesh
(depending on charges). |
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I suspect that you could maintain an extremely high
charge on a mesh (which could be deployed some
distance from the ship) with very very little energy
cost, and with much less mass than either permanent
or electromagnets. |
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Any charge you need on this mesh would presumably come as a by-product of the spacecraft's ion drive. |
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One very obscure sf book, "Jupiter Thieves" (from memory), some pesky aliens make off with Jupiter as a shield against this kind of stuff and other nasties when travelling very quick around the universe.. |
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Okay, I misread the superconductors to be
between the walls. As I said, the magnetic field in
the crew compartment will be fairly small without
the extra layer of superconductors, but on further
consideration my statement that a Faraday cage
doesn't block static magnetic fields was actually
incorrect when applied to a superconducting
Faraday cage. In a copper Faraday cage a magnet
approaching will induce an eddy current that will
soon go away due to resistance. An eddy current
in a superconducting Faraday cage will keep
going. But if the field is small enough without it,
you could save weight by leaving it out. |
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Vernon I may have vaguely remembered your
concept in putting together mine. I think
astronauts would be safe inside a giant, turned on
MRI. I thought the power requirements would be
impractical so made it many tiny MRI-like coils,
which would in fact be powered by the charged
particles themselves as cudgel proposed. |
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Still looking for some math for that other idea.
Supercat? Lurch? |
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//How would we know that hasn’t actually happened, and here’s where they hid it? |
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One way to tell, see if it still has the "Planet Jupiter: Packed by weight, not volume. Contents may settle in transit" sticker just above the red spot. |
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