NASA Say: Need to Solve Radiation Belt Problem

[Pimander]

So essentially you need a flying Faraday cage so the particles don't get in...right?

That would not protect you from all radiation.

The problem is partly that the sort of shielding that will protect you from some radiation causes the really high energy stuff to produce secondary particles which can then harm you.

Here is a quote from a professor of Cosmology and Astrophysics

ONE THIRD OF THE DNA in your body would
be sliced by cosmic rays every year you
spent in interplanetary space. Protecting
astronauts against the onslaught will
entail unavoidable trade-offs

On using a magnetic shield:

That is not all. Simple estimates of the power requirements
to maintain the charge of the spacecraft are mind-boggling.
One ampere of current at two billion volts amounts to 2,000
megawatts
the output of a good-size electric power plant.
Rough estimates suggest the current would exceed 10 million
amperes. The proposers have not spelled out how they hope
to charge the spacecraft to two billion volts in the first place.
Curiously, like the idea of inflating magnetic fields, the notion
of charging the spacecraft to shield the astronauts has re
ceived substantial attention and funding without a clear explanation
of how it might work.

https://engineering.dartmouth.edu/~d76205x/research/Shielding/docs/Parker_06.pdf

[Pimander]

I have a paper dates 1961 NASA declassified contractor report from GE that says they has shields (Probably where Roddenberry got the Enterprise's shields )

So as always we have strong evidence that supports both sides

Sorry, I should have said: Officially they do not have a solution to the problem yet which is why there are no civilian deep space flights. (Apart from the apollo hoax.  Don't bite! )

[spacemaverick]

Thanks you all.  I will look into the information provided to obtain a better understanding!

[zorgon]

Does a Faraday cage not require GROUNDING to work? What do you ground it to in space?

Remember the NASA STS-75 TETHER? When it broke free it continued collecting power and started glowing, a sustained arc.


So what would happen in a cage that wasn't grounded?

To illustrate the point  This guy is wearing a Faraday suit  He is also standing on an insulated platform

You can see the suit discharging to ground from his foot

[ArMaP]

But If NASA says it can fry circuits surely it can fry cells too?

The problem with modern circuits is that they are very small and made to use very low currents, so an extra electron may create problems in an electronic circuit but it wouldn't affect much a living organism.

If you looks at the integrated circuits used in the Apollo mission you can see that transistors and resistors were visible.


Today's computers are already using processors made with 25 nanometres elements (or space between elements, I'm not sure), and most use CMOS transistors, as those use less power and make it easier to make smaller circuits (which allows higher speeds) but are more sensitive to things like static electricity.

[ArMaP]

Does a Faraday cage not require GROUNDING to work?

I don't think so, the fact that the cage is made of conductive material is what makes it work, as it keeps the whole cage at the same potential.

Edited to add that, even if it gets a huge charge like in the tether case (which was a special case, as it was made to gather charge), that charge remains on the outer side of the cage, everything inside is not affected.

[Pimander]

A Faraday cage type shield is not enough in deeper space away from Earth.  I know this diagram is from Wikipedia but it explains my point.


Standard spacecraft shielding, integrated into hull design, is strong protection from most solar radiation, but defeats this purpose with high-energy cosmic rays, as it simply splits this into showers of secondary particles [NASA].

Notice the caption is sourced from NASA.  Basically an aluminium hull already acts like a Faraday cage as aluminium is a good conductor.  NASA and ESA (European agency) have not spent millions on this if a cage is all you need in space.  Surely that is obvious.

The military (or black projects) may have a classified solution but a workable AND AFFORDABLE practical solution is not in the public domain (unless I don't know about it of course but I have an interest in  this and solid background knowledge of the biological effects of radiation).

We can't afford to lift massive nuclear reactors (in order to protect astronauts using electrical charge or magnetic fields), astronauts, supplies and other materials on the current budgets of NASA and ESA.

Only the black money or black projects or the military could possibly achieve this in my opinion for several reasons.

1. These projects have potentially a LOT OF MONEY so can do much more.  No need to justify the cost to overtaxed electorate if they don't know about the project.

2. In secret they can take greater risks with the safety of military personnel and gamble with money without having to justify this to the public.

3. They very likely have technology which makes deep space travel possible.  That technology is kept secret because it is so dangerous in the wrong hands in order to keep us safe.  That technology may well be a very efficient source of energy that could power shields and thrusters for space travel.  I suspect it may be a plasma fusion system but I'm only guessing.

4. The evidence from Apollo is that they quite possibly really did get to the Moon but had to fake whatever footage we have.  That might be because they did it with technology that remains classified, but again I am speculating. The astronauts from Apollo 11 did not remember whether they saw stars when in deeper space.  THEY HAVE TO BE LYING.  Most who have been out there NEVER FORGET HOW BEAUTIFUL IT LOOKS.

Pimander knows nothing?  Make up your own mind.

[spacemaverick]

I thought we had some shielding in 1969.  Now a NASA engineer says we need to solve the radiation problem.  Well, I thought this was an interesting video....

[ArMaP]

Why repost the video from the opening post?

I thought we had some shielding in 1969.  Now a NASA engineer says we need to solve the radiation problem.

And he says what's the problem, the electronics.

As I said before, today's electronics are much more sensitive than the 1960's electronics, that's the price we have to pay for the higher speed and much lower power consumption.

Well, I thought this was an interesting video....

It's as interesting as it was when zorgon posted the first time. 

[spacemaverick]

Armap, delete the post...I made a boo boo....