Can this work? Moving in a vacuum

  • Thread starter Thread starter preaceps
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Vacuum Work
AI Thread Summary
The discussion centers on the feasibility of using a paddle-wheel type arm with coiled wiring to generate a magnetic field for propulsion in space. Participants clarify that a magnetic field alone does not produce movement, as it generates no force to propel a ship. The idea of using magnetic repulsion, similar to maglev trains, is acknowledged but deemed impractical since the required magnet would need to be left behind. Ultimately, the consensus is that while the concept is creative, it is not a viable method for spacecraft propulsion. The idea is considered more of a theoretical curiosity than a practical solution.
preaceps
Messages
2
Reaction score
0
Can this work?? Moving in a vacuum

Okay, so i have been bugged by this idea for about a week now. And unfortunately it has been quite some time since I took any real in depth science classes. I am wondering if this idea is even plausible.

In the vacuum of space, would you be able to have a spaceship with a paddle-wheel type arm on the back. Instead of the paddles though, it is an arm with wiring coiled around it so that you can run a current through it and create a magnetic field. If that arm could be put on a rotating joint to allow say 180% movement, so as to allow for turning, would the magnetic field( if it was strong enough) be able to move the ship?

ATM i am not so much concerned with the mass, current required, or speed gained as I am as is this even possible. Also I tend to have weird ideas, so do you think that this is just completely insane? Plausible but not practical?

Thanks,
Rob
 
Physics news on Phys.org


If you had a wire coiled around a paddle you really just have a solenoid, the magnetic field outside the solenoid is zero for the surface of the cylinder as each component is canceled by the components generated by the next turn of wire. So there is only really a B field at either ends of the arm but one end would be the ship itself.

How would generating a magnetic field into space cause a ship or whatever to move? Magnetic fields do no work
 


No, it's not plausible.
A magnetic field in itself generates no force to move the ship.
 


Thanks guys, i don't know. I was thinking of kind of like the maglev trains. Like have the metal ship being repulsed by a larger magnetic force.
Was just an off the wall idea i had but i don't know that much about this stuff. :)
 


You want the magnetic field to repel the ship? It would work, but you couldn't carry the magnet or solenoid along with you, you'd have to leave it behind so it would push you away from it. Even then, the propulsion would be good for only a few metres before the field strength was too small to do much more. So not practicable. Myth busted.
 

Thread 'Is calling fictitious forces "not real" just about terminology?'

Hi there, im studying nanoscience at the university in Basel. Today I looked at the topic of intertial and non-inertial reference frames and the existence of fictitious forces. I understand that you call forces real in physics if they appear in interplay. Meaning that a force is real when there is the "actio" partner to the "reactio" partner. If this condition is not satisfied the force is not real. I also understand that if you specifically look at non-inertial reference frames you can...
View full post »

Thread 'Derivation of Hamilton's Principle: Questions'

I have recently been really interested in the derivation of Hamiltons Principle. On my research I found that with the term ##m \cdot \frac{d}{dt} (\frac{dr}{dt} \cdot \delta r) = 0## (1) one may derivate ##\delta \int (T - V) dt = 0## (2). The derivation itself I understood quiet good, but what I don't understand is where the equation (1) came from, because in my research it was just given and not derived from anywhere. Does anybody know where (1) comes from or why from it the...
View full post »

Similar threads

Vacuum and pressure will it move?
Replies
1
Views
2K
I How to flatten the surface of a viscous gel?
Replies
7
Views
2K
B Can anyone help me with my high school paper on vacuum and quantum vacuum?
Replies
1
Views
900
I Why don't we "fly up" in an accelerating elevator?
Replies
11
Views
3K
Exploiting time varying B field to employ vacuum acceleratio
Replies
8
Views
2K
Question about why this vacuum setup works.
Replies
2
Views
2K
How Is Energy Expended When Holding a Bucket Stationary?
Replies
6
Views
1K
I How induction works within a coil (nuances of it)
Replies
6
Views
2K
Understanding energy conservation in a solenoid
Replies
5
Views
1K
I Graduation of air flow inside a vacuum chamber
Replies
4
Views
2K

Hot Threads

Recent Insights

Back
Top