Hitching a ride?

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shadowmane
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Hitching a ride?

Post by shadowmane » Mon Jul 11, 2011 1:12 pm

Okay, I have, most likely, a sophomoric question. But could one, theoretically, hitch a ride on Burkeland Currents and travel between linked planets and stars?
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mharratsc
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Re: Hitching a ride?

Post by mharratsc » Mon Jul 11, 2011 2:02 pm

Presumably you could pull power out of the thing (if I read what Wal Thornhill suggested correctly) i.e.- tap into the current, but it's not very much like a current in a river, say. There is actually very little noticeable matter in motion, in other words, and the density of the matter isn't very thick usually, either.

I have thought, however, that a very high voltage ion drive might work for interstellar transport, but I think you'd have to be self-powered and that defeats the purpose of the question. :\
Mike H.

"I have no fear to shout out my ignorance and let the Wise correct me, for every instance of such narrows the gulf between them and me." -- Michael A. Harrington
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orrery
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Re: Hitching a ride?

Post by orrery » Mon Jul 11, 2011 4:10 pm

shadowmane wrote:Okay, I have, most likely, a sophomoric question. But could one, theoretically, hitch a ride on Burkeland Currents and travel between linked planets and stars?
I have been thinking about this for quite some time. My idea is that we must map out the interstellar and interplanetary currents before we could send a ship down the current of our "river" you would also need to make sure that the current has a degree of stability where it wouldn't twist away and leave our probe detached.
"though free to think and to act - we are held together like the stars - in firmament with ties inseparable - these ties cannot be seen but we can feel them - each of us is only part of a whole" -tesla

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Eaol
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Re: Hitching a ride?

Post by Eaol » Mon Jul 11, 2011 5:31 pm

If I am reading mharratsc's reply correctly, could you not simply store power gathered from these currents, and travel along them?

How would you map out these currents, orrery?
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orrery
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Re: Hitching a ride?

Post by orrery » Mon Jul 11, 2011 6:58 pm

Eaol wrote:If I am reading mharratsc's reply correctly, could you not simply store power gathered from these currents, and travel along them?

How would you map out these currents, orrery?
Well the only thing I can really think of is monitor CME / flux tube interactions and try to determine if CMEs display any tendency to lean towards specific celestial objects.
"though free to think and to act - we are held together like the stars - in firmament with ties inseparable - these ties cannot be seen but we can feel them - each of us is only part of a whole" -tesla

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orrery
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Re: Hitching a ride?

Post by orrery » Mon Jul 11, 2011 7:35 pm

http://www.thunderbolts.info/forum/phpB ... 127#p46466

Previous thread in which I proposed an @home program to map out Birkeland currents like milkyway@home to act as an interstellar railroad.
"though free to think and to act - we are held together like the stars - in firmament with ties inseparable - these ties cannot be seen but we can feel them - each of us is only part of a whole" -tesla

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Osmosis
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Re: Hitching a ride?

Post by Osmosis » Mon Jul 11, 2011 8:58 pm

With a bit of help from the biological community, on extending our lives to several millenia and some funding for spacecraft, we're on our way! Sign me up! :) :)
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shadowmane
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Re: Hitching a ride?

Post by shadowmane » Tue Oct 04, 2011 7:02 pm

M2P2
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