using planetary scale electrodynamic tethers

If you think that electrodynamic tethers for space transportation are cool, check out the planetary scale "tether" of io dipping inside the Jovian magnetosphere, the Io Flux Tube:

csep10.phys.utk.edu...

The Flux Tube has a power output of about 2 trillion watts, comparable to the amount of all manmade power produced on Earth

Wouldn't it be nice if we tapped into this tube or create some flux tubes or tethers of our own around some planets ???

There are many other objects inside the reach of Jovian magnetosphere from wich we can convert their orbital energy into electricity by suspending tethers or flux tubes from them.

Think of the implications for space travel, you could have some nice gigawatt energy/particle beams parked throughout the solarsystem.

One of the implications of the conversion of orbital energy by magnetic drag, is that these utilised moons / asteroids will get lower orbits, even could crash into the Jovian atmosphere if energy is persistently extract for thousands of years, but this orbit lowering isn't necessarely a bad thing!

How about creating a long gas plasma fluxtube from the moon, dipping into the earth magnetosphere, we could extract a bunch of kinetic energy from the sheer kinetic mass of the moon, while at the same time, gradually bringing the moon cinto a closer orbit with earth so that our children will have to travel only halve the distance or something...


[edit on 22-2-2005 by Countermeasures]

Originally posted by Countermeasures
How about creating a long gas plasma fluxtube from the moon, dipping into the earth magnetosphere, we could extract a bunch of kinetic energy from the sheer kinetic mass of the moon, while at the same time, gradually bringing the moon cinto a closer orbit with earth so that our children will have to travel only halve the distance or something...

No. Nyet. A-no-ha.

The tides, man! Geez, the moon was closer in the distant past, and you can see incredible tidal surges in the geologic record!

ok, lets capture that extra tidal energy as well with the LIMPET wave generator

Alternatively, to avoid a tidal problem at all , the electricity captured by the lunar flux tube will be used for extensive mining of the moon, for the construction of spaceships/colonies floating at Lagrange points and sending materials back to earth.

by exporting all this material, the moon will loose mass in the process, this will make up for gravity induced tidal effects for having moon at closer distance. in fact, one could choose to get the moon further away as well by stop capturing electricity from the fluxtube and just keep exporting material to spacecolonies, (not to earth, otherwise the increased gravity of the earth will balance that).


[edit on 23-2-2005 by Countermeasures]