Thoughts are ephemeral things

Thoughts are ephemeral things- here one instant, and gone
the next.  I wanted to hold on to two thoughts, but one
has slipped my mind, while I write about the other.

It had something to do with politics and the state of
the society.  Wish I could remember it.

The other is about science:

Does a particle passing by a body with a magnetic field
impart any force to that body?  If yes, how much?
And what is the nature of that force?

A thought experiment suggests that it does.  Consider two magnets.  They are supported on a cushion of air so that any force imposed upon them will cause them to move.  Maybe a bit like bumper cars.  On the other hand, maybe not.  Like Hovercraft, instead.  Anyway, the thing can float on air without touching anything that may cause friction.

Let's say you have a power magnet onboard two Hovercraft, and the two craft are heading towards each other head on.  The magnets are in front, so the two craft will come within their respective magnetic fields before they bump into one another.  What happens?  Most likely, the vehicles will be diverted somewhat by the strength of the magnetic fields interacting with each other.  Depending upon the strength of the magnetics and the amount of momentum each vehicle possesses, the collision might be averted entirely.

Now imagine if both are sitting still.  Advance one, while keeping the other still.  The likely outcome of this, I would think, is a pushing of one that's already moving of the one that isn't.  The other one will go away from the other ( provided that the magnetic fields are of the same polarity).

I think these two hypothetic scenarios show that some force is being applied to both objects.

The nature of the force that moves the stationary object is kinetic energy.  It is being transferred though the magnetic force, which is constant.  The kinetic force is variable.  Once it is removed, the source of the motion is also removed.

How can this be used for some purpose?

I was thinking of a space drive that enhances the effects of solar wind.  Since solar wind is charged particles, it has a magnetic field.  Consider a magnetic field of reverse polarity that attracts the charged particles.  If you could sweep an larger area than your ship, you can enhance the collection of solar wind particles and thereby capturing their kinetic energy as well.  This would impart more acceleration to the craft.