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The Moon's Magnetic Umbrellas
eldavojohn writes "When it comes to space exploration, there are things that are good for humans (water) and things that are bad for humans (radiation). In order for exploration of the moon to occur, its lack of a global magnetic shield to block solar radiation must be addressed. Luckily, scientists have discovered that there are highly magnetized areas of the moon's crust that could shield settlements." From the article: "Current evidence suggests that impact-basin ejecta materials [material blasted out by huge asteroid or comet impacts] are the most likely sources of many or all of the magnetic fields ... These ejecta contain microscopic metallic iron particles that are the carriers of the magnetization."
can't we just hide underneath some rocks? or can radiation get through moon rock since it's made of cheese?
How the fuck can cheese possibly be magnetic!
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I understand there's a large magnetic anomoly in the Tycho crater...
No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism. - Winston Churchill
So does that mean that terraforming is out of the question? I mean, even if we could create and hold an atmosphere (impossible for lack of gravity), would the moon remain uninhabitable due to a weak magnetosphere?
Other things that are bad for humans in space:
...
Vaccuum
Lack of hospitable worlds within a light-lifetime of Earth
Space junk in LEO
Lack of food/flora/fauna
Lack of easy return trips
Metric/English conversions
Klingons
Frakking toasters
Pod bay doors
Random ion storms which give superhuman powers
Maniacal dictators who for some reason want to use their newest Deus Ex Machina on Earth
It's a good thing you can't spell ridiculous, or we would have to take you siriusly.
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We might as well face it... settlements on planets is never going to happen. Couple of reasons:
1) The moon is too ugly and the gravity too light.
2) Mars is ugly too, but even beyond that, it won't be allowed because we won't want to screw up the natural environment for study.
The future of space settlements is space stations floating in space. We can have any environment we want (including green), we can simulate natural gravity via spinning, and we can engineer shielding. Settling other planets is romantic, but impractical, and arguably very few people would want to live on a dead rock anyway.
Sometimes it's best to just let stupid people be stupid.
Let's build our moon colony in the areas where there are strange magnetic readings. And when those colonists disappear mysteriously, we can send in a crack commando team to investigate. This would lead to entertaining action, some mild humor, and perhaps even a little romance.
No, no, no. It's REDiculous. As in the Reds or Commies. It's not just bad, it's Communist.
Artificial magnetic shielding is surprisingly economical. Big weak fields do a fine job deflecting charged particles, and you can generate them with a superconducting cable around the rim of a crater. Polar craters (where the ice might be) are plenty cold enough for today's high temperature superconductors.
The article is great, because it does outline the major problem facing permanent settlement on the Moon: radiation. But there are some other necessities that need to be addressed, like reinforcing of the magnetic field during solar flares, the crater's proximity to other elements for the production of power and water, and the need for solar power.
While it's a great start, it doesn't answer all the questions, which leaves scientists and future lunar explorers with a great question: Do they build up a complex network of sites, or continue to try to find the ideal spot?
With increasing pressure from other countries to get to the Moon first, as well as additional programs to settle the moon as a research outpost, the pressure is on. So while this is a great find, and will augment any magnetic solution that mankind could come up with, it's only part of the puzzle. That being said, it is an important part of the puzzle.
there are things that are good for humans (water) and things that are bad for humans (radiation)
Being a fan of light and heat but not drowning, does that make me a weird human?
As the old saying goes: all things in moderation. Radiation's pretty useful, just as water is. Overwhelm my body with either though and things start to go wrong. In the history of humanity though, I'm guessing more people have died from too much water than too much radiation - if only due to the convenience of access to excess of one and not the other.
The magnetic fields in question don't have to be all that strong to defend against radiation - no stronger than the one you've been sitting under for your whole life that is doing the same for you now.
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Those fields are obviously pollution left behind by some fool leaving his Cavorite sphere idling in park. Will someone please think of the Selenites?
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Magnetic umbrellas?
Listen, fellas.
Stop the rays
Or so they tell us:
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Get thee glass eyes, and, like a scurvy politician, seem to see things thou dost not.--King Lear
I'm not prepared to say that strong magnetic fields are totally harmless (more a reservation about making a statement of absolute fact rather than any belief or proof to the contrary), but at least in so far as the myth that magnetic fields cause cancer, then yes, they're harmless. Magnetic fields are not ionizing radiation.
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