Recent Activities

I continue adding links to my interesting reading section on the left sidebar.  Last night, as I mentioned, I listened to a Space Show broadcast (2008) featuring John Powell of JP Aerospace.  I put that up in that section in case anyone is interested.

This morning, I continue studying the idea of using magnetism as propulsion.  I added some interesting links there as well.   Magnets can be made so powerful that they can levitate a frog shown here:

http://www.magnet.fsu.edu/usershub/scientificdivisions/dcfield/facilities.html

I added the die for a better illustration.  The die is more centered.  I think that the frog, being alive, wanted to get to something solid for support.  So it migrates to the edges.

Not only can things be levitated, they can be launched.  Here's a pic of an experiment launching a small metallic device several feet into the air using nothing but magnetism.  The object is shown here after it has fallen back down to its launch point.

http://www.magnet.fsu.edu/usershub/scientificdivisions/dcfield/facilities.html

 I made a couple more screen shots of relative magnetic force examples shown below

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orders_of_magnitude_(magnetic_field)

It takes a lot of power to run some of these magnets.  As I wrote in an earlier post, I wonder if this could be used to propel a spacecraft higher or into orbit.  The idea has been studied and nearly implemented in the Mir example given earlier.  Government red tape may have prevented that, not necessarily its feasibility.