Dynaverse.net
Off Topic => Engineering => Topic started by: Nemesis on July 20, 2006, 09:12:33 pm
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Link to full article (http://www.newscientistspace.com/article/dn9567-plasma-bubble-could-protect-astronauts-on-mars-trip.html)
Plasma bubble could protect astronauts on Mars trip
The details still need to be worked out, but the basic approach is clear. A high voltage device on the spacecraft would tear the hydrogen into its constituent protons and electrons. This plasma would then be spewed out into space, creating a cloud around the spacecraft.
There would need to be a wire mesh outside the spacecraft and enclosing the plasma cloud. Electricity supplied to the mesh would keep an electrical current running in the plasma cloud and help confined it near the spacecraft.