Artificial magnetic fields

Hi,

I was posting in this topic about the atmosphere on Mars.

I got a reply there about Mars not having a magnetic field due to the cooling down and stopping of moving of the core.

My question is, is it possible to make an artificial magnetic field. I understand for the whole planet it would be very difficult but I mean on a local scale. And would such a field be capable to hold atmospere if only applied localy.

Thank you!

Depends why you are asking the question. To make Mars liveable for humans to just walk around with just regular clothes on? No.

Three problems with Mars. First the atmosphere. It is not "thick" enough. If we can make it thicker and warmer, that fixes two problems. That could be fixed by adding CO2 and later water vapor. (Two wonderful greenhouse gases). That would allow plantlife to begin to grow, then in turn create O2. Not a fast process at all.

The third problem, solar radiation. Mars does have a magnetic field. It is weak and fragmented however. With a thicker atmosphere, that "might" help protect life, it might not. We do not 100% know how much radiation actually hits the surface of Mars. Our best bet is to have structures that are built to protect life, much like the ISS has now.

I would expect Mars to have enough gravity to keep a thicker atmopshere if we could deliver one through terraforming. But the core and magnetic field no not apply.

Hope that helped.

reply to post by ambushrocks


While this would be a hefty technological feat, it might be viable for "sectioning" mars into habitable zones. However, this would likely be long after domed outposts were set up, perhaps in an effort to sustain agriculture.

And good for you OP. Thinking outside the box is what creates progress.

Thank you both for your answers.

Now lets hope nasa will try for a manned flight to Mars. I know there's a lot of trouble with that but I do hope to see people walk on Mars one day. Besides that they maybe able to do some testing there to see what's possible there and what is not.

Originally posted by NGC2736
reply to post by ambushrocks

 

While this would be a hefty technological feat, it might be viable for "sectioning" mars into habitable zones. However, this would likely be long after domed outposts were set up, perhaps in an effort to sustain agriculture.

And good for you OP. Thinking outside the box is what creates progress.

A large scale magnetic field can be created by passing a huge current from a capacitor bank through parallel wire cables laid in the iron oxide martian soil.

The momentary huge high voltage high current will create a permanent magnet due to magnetization of the iron in the soil.


the process can be repeated many times.

reply to post by esecallum


First you gotta get the power up there, not easy considering how much power your talking about to effectively create the current that will be required to magnetize the iron oxide soil.

This cannot be done with tiny reactors. This would require power levels that could only come from a bunch of generators tied together, or some form of Mars HAARP setup.

Lets get there first though. With the way things are going, I doubt we will see any manned mission to Mars soon, even by 2019 that was called for by former president Bush Sr.



Cheers!!!!

I am all for space exploration, but when people speak of terraforming Mars it drives me insane!
Why not terraform the Middle East and places here on Earth that could use it first?

reply to post by Jay-in-AR


I agree that we really gave up to make our planet better. However - terraforming desert in ,say, Saudi Arabia - is currently business of Saudi Arabia government and people. Huge technological task that is problematic and can potentially backfire is responsibility of single nation. But humanity can do it now.
Now terraforming Mars is a concept. It will not be done in near decades. I doubt that it will be finished this century. So again - it is only a concept. First there will be land grab by all the major forces and then some kind of terraforming might be started,as a joint project.
So investing in Mars will bring dividends to all the major players. Investing in deserts (or even in normal under-managed African soil) is not going to bring any benefit to major players. Only strengthen competing nations.
So deserts,ocean floor or other problematic spots will just have to wait until local government is capable to develop those areas.
As an example - current "fight for arctic" began only once huge oil deposits were found. Then Russian federation, Canada,US,Scandinavian states started to invest into, well not teraforming, but at least researching the area better.

All planets and objects in space might be able to hold electrical charges.

The Earth is conducting and full of electrons that the power companies use for
free and charge you for power.

Any charged object in space might be sending out microwaves
if not generating a magnetic field.

The Earth's magnetic field might be due to conduction of electrical
charges from the Sun over its conducting surface.



[edit on 2/7/2009 by TeslaandLyne]

Zero Knowledge,

I understand the geo-political reasons as to why we don't teraform the impoverished areas of the Earth. It has everything to do with greed. We would rather bomb those areas and rape their resources than help them grow an environment that would allow them to become industrialized.

Still drives me nuts, though.

They won't give peace a chance AT ALL. If the US, UN, EU or any other alphabet entity gave the Middle Eastern and African nations the means to change their environment for the better, you can bet we would become good friends with that nation. However, there isn't any money in getting along with your neighbors, only by stealing from them.

reply to post by TeslaandLyne


On the subject of an electrical universe, did you catch that thread recently about how those new flourescent bulbs give off UV radiation?
Hmmm...