New propulsion concept could make 90-day Mars round trip possible

University of Washington News Office ^ | 14 October 2004 | Vince Stricherz

[PatrickHenry]

Anyone who wants to glance at the title and then post something clever and original like:

1. Bush did it;
2. Daschle is deeply sadened;
3. A full-screen Star Trek pic;

is certainly free to do so, but please address your post to someone other than me.

[PatrickHenry]

Science list Ping! This is an elite subset of the Evolution list.
See the list's description in my freeper homepage. Then FReepmail me to be added or dropped.

[bondserv]

#3

[Little Pig]

Any risk to people caught in a beam? What if one of these things becomes misaligned? Arcturus here we come?

[Thrusher]

Please, Lord, oh please give me the strength to resist the temptation.

[BenLurkin]

Ping

[PatrickHenry]

Link to info from NASA about other projects being funded under this program (not much funding):
NASA Explores Future Space with Advanced Concept Awards .

[mrsmith]

A cheap place to put a nuclear power station to generate the beam is ... the Moon.

[Shryke]

...but please address your post to someone other than me

Dammit PH, you are really becoming a hard-ass! You've got to relax. GW whipped the traitor's butt last night. Election's in the bag.

Interesting concept this guy has here. But wouldn't it create the need to "anchor" the plasma producing unit with counter thrust?

[bondserv]

The earth looks small in that picture.

Around Mars in 90 days, BUMP!

[beezdotcom]

So, what do they do with the reverse acceleration given the beam GENERATOR?

[azhenfud]

Let me take a shot at this:

If the plasma beam is sent TO Mars and the "sails" are pushed in that direction - what drives the "sails" on the return leg. Half of a two and a half year voyage is still fifteen months - not ninety days.

[SedVictaCatoni]

Send the other station out first, unmanned.

[Styria]

Test it out on some satelites first.

[babyface00]

My physics is a little rusty...

Do magnetized ions have mass? If so, then would that require this device to be anchored on a large mass, like a planet/moon/etc or have some sort of opposite force to keep the device in place in space as the ions spew out?

[PatrickHenry]

List (clickable) of what is presumably every study they've funded so far. Lotta good stuff:
All Studies listed by Name, Phase, and Title.

[PatrickHenry]

Do magnetized ions have mass? If so, then would that require this device to be anchored on a large mass, like a planet/moon/etc or have some sort of opposite force to keep the device in place in space as the ions spew out?

Sure they have mass. The article says the beam would come from a station in space. I suppose they've done the math.

[hosepipe]

I don't get it..
Is it like putting a carrot on a string in front of a donkey ?..
or useing spurs and whip to motivate the donkey from behind..?
or even like useing an electric fan in a sailboat..

How does it work ?

[bruin66]

Ezactly! Something about equal and opposite reaction.

[anobjectivist]

Yes, magnetized ions would have mass. However, if the craft simply dumped ions in two directions symetrically at the same time, its orbit would be unaffected as far as I know.

Kind of like if you were in a two person kayak with one person rowing backwards. There'd be lots of motion, and lots of water moved around, but you wouldn't get anywhere.