Feel the Force

well, duh.

Have they considered the effects of navigation due to deflecting these solar winds?

I would guess that the effect would be about the same as if the wind hit the spacecraft. Maybe slightly more since there's a larger area involved. Maybe slightly less since the particles in the wind don't give up as much energy as they would if they actually hit something solid.

I think we read about this a few days ago, right here: http://cr4.globalspec.com/blogentry/7300/New-spaceship-force-field-makes-Mars-trip-possible

The difficulty for the astronauts then becomes a matter of remaining OK inside the magnetic bubble, without major bodily effects detrimental to their health.

At the end of the trip, shades of Stan Freeberg with ending to his old song "Wun'erful, Wun'erful!": Turn off The Bubble Machine" - refer here for lyrics: http://www.themadmusicarchive.com/song_details.aspx?SongID=11556

Kind Regards....

I have a feeling (don't we all, but thats another story)
that magnetism does have a key role to play in space travel.

If the planets are "spaced" out by gravitational forces, it is
a reasonable hypothesis that one could, somehow, create
a directional magnetic field of sufficient force to travel in space.

One only has to see and feel the effect of powerful magnets of
similar polarity to appreciate the acceleration and distance that
could be achieved if developed correctly. A "magnetic gun" to fire
space ships into space I believe has been proposed before now.

A good example for speed is the levitation trains. If a government
would please instigate and finance such interesting research,
I am sure they would find it rewarding in some way.

jt.

He said, "Why am I going round in circles?" I replied,
"Shut up, or I'll nail your other foot to the floor."

Ha! Well, then!

"The researchers have conducted experiments showing a giant magnetic bubble can shield a spacecraft from the harmful effects of radiation from solar storms."

These guys are only now figuring this out, seeming as we all live on a 'spacecraft' that already has this very feature? You know, Earth?

Even still, we have charged particles from the Sun wending their way to Earth's magnetic poles, causing aurorae. We're much better off during a major solar storm than if we didn't have our magnetosphere's protection at all, but we still get hammered during a storm by the huge ion currents funneled into the upper atmosphere at the poles.

Other currents circulating in the magnetosphere during a major storm fry our satellites, wreak havoc with our communications and navigation systems, and induce huge currents that shut down major portions of our electric distribution grids. At least we're not dead.

"Well, if the field surrounding this spacecraft is strong enough, maybe we can reduce these effects?"

Not likely. Witness Jupiter's magnetosphere, produced by a much stronger planetary magnetic field. If it's a "giant magnetic bubble" these researchers want, consider that if Jupiter's magnetosphere were visible to the unaided eye it would appear to be about the size of the Moon as seen from Earth.

Jupiter is roughly 500 million miles distant. If its magnetosphere looks that big from here, well, I'd say that's a pretty big magnetic 'bubble,' all things considered.

What do our Jovian friends think about all this? They think it's pretty cool having aurorae bigger than the Earth. Oh, and continent-size thunderstorms thanks to the huge ion currents pouring into the Jovian atmosphere.

Tell you what, these researchers can be the first to fly their MagBubble Mark I into space during a major solar storm. I like my bacon crispy, btw. And my toast.

Kind regards,

TV