Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
 |
Diamagnetic Cavity Shield For Spacecraft?
A spacecraft could be protected from radiation with a dipolelike magnetic field and plasma; it could surround a spacecraft like a ’mini magnetosphere.’ Reseachers in the UK, Portugal and Sweden announced the work in this month's Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion.
Spacecraft venturing to the planets will need to be outfitted with some sort of protection against radiation like that associated with the solar wind, a low-density plasma that constantly flows outward from the sun.
(Diamagnetic cavity could protect spacecraft [pdf])
dHybrid simulation results showing the appearance of diamagnetic-like cavity... In particular, the characteristic scale lengths of the transport barrier (apparent from the brighter regions of higher density) are well matched with experiment...
Initial laboratory experiments seem to hold out the possibility that the solar wind could be deflected around an appropriately equipped spacecraft.
Visible light imaging of the system indicates that the plasma beam is deflected into a thin annular shell, the interior of which appears to be devoid of plasma...Initial hybrid modelling of the system with the dHybrid code shows very good agreement with the experimental results, reproducing well the measured ‘stand-off’ distance and the overall spatial scale of the diamagnetic cavity. In addition the scale length of the transport barrier region is consistent with experimental results...
Force shields, also called deflector shields, have long been a science fiction staple. The general idea was described in such early works as E.E. 'Doc' Smith's 1934 Triplanetary; see the entry for protective shield. The general term shield for a protective energy barrier was probably first used by Smith.
The rise of special effects images in films has also given the public imagination much to work on; take a look at this depiction of a force shield from Star Trek: The Next Generation.
(Force shield protection against the Borg)
An early representation may be recalled by older fans; take a look at the Martian shield from the 1953 movie version of H.G. Well's 1898 novel The War of the Worlds.
(Martians protect themselves with shields in 1953 movie version)
See also the "Star Trek-like shield" picture in an earlier article Deflector Shields For Spacecraft?. From The interaction of a flowing plasma with a dipole magnetic field: measurements and modelling of a diamagnetic cavity relevant to spacecraft protection [pdf]; thanks to Moira for pointing this one out.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 11/6/2008)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion ( 2 )
Related News Stories - (" Space Tech ")
Elon Musk Wants Data Centers In Space
'Internally it’s made up of millions of components, but the most important ones are the thinking and memory parts of the Mind proper.' - Iain Banks, 1987.
ISS Plagued By Leak - Again!
'There were perhaps a dozen bladder-like objects in the tunnel...' - Robert Heinlein, 1948.
Sunbird Pulsar Fusion Like Leinster's Space Tug
'It was a pushpot, which could not possibly be called a jet plane because it could not possibly fly. Only it did.' - Murray Leinster, 1953.
Crystalline Structures In Space, You Say?
A massive space borne lifeform from ST:TNG.
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
Current News
Elon Musk Wants Data Centers In Space
'Internally it’s made up of millions of components, but the most important ones are the thinking and memory parts of the Mind proper.'
Origin F1 Humanoid Robot's Facial Skin
'I could look down at that face of carefully molded synthetic rubber, tinted the exact shade of the doctor's living flesh.'
Grok And The City Fathers From 'Cities In Flight' By James Blish
'Chris, the City Fathers are not interested in your welfare; I suppose you know that. They're interested in only one thing: the survival of the city.'
Why Not Move A Warehouse District?
'Did you never see a moving house before?'
Will An AI Found A New Religion?
'You must decide how you will worship Me.'
Terraformer Industries Make Methane
'Drake was the young spatial engineer he employed to terraform the little rock...'
I Need An Outdoor Spherical Display
'Usually a spherical display hovered in the centre...'
Worm Disrupts Physics Simulations Undetected For A Decade
'It diverts integers of the data, the fundamental message-units, so that they no longer agree.'
Muxcard Redditor's DIY Credit Card-Sized Computer
It's a computer, but just barely.
'Soft Assembly' Fashions That Fashion Themselves On The Wearer
'Clothes are no longer made from dead fibers of fixed color and texture that can approximate only crudely to the vagrant human figure...'
Orwell's Nightmare Of AI-Written Novels Comes To Pass
'Books were just a commodity that had to be produced, like jam or bootlaces.'
ISS Plagued By Leak - Again!
'There were perhaps a dozen bladder-like objects in the tunnel...'
Ridiculous 'Ghost Murmur' Tech Still Science Fiction
'...it rears and spreads its fan. It can pick one man out of a crowd.'
Outdoor Video Screens Can Be Arbitrarily Large
The Shape of Things To Come
Infrared Contact Lenses To See In The Dark
'I can see in the dark, Case.'
What'll You Have? Extinct Animals Returned, Or Synthetic Eggshells?
'...a new plastic with the characteristics of an avian eggshell.'
