[FPSPACE] Lorentz Force propulsion Successful test

[LARRY KLAES]

Lorentz Force propulsion Successful test

June 09, 2008

Since the recent trial [with explosive arcing problems], Peck
and his colleagues at the University of Michigan and State
University of New York, Binghamton, have successfully tested
(but not yet published) their propulsion system, which could
speed satellites along at more than four and a half miles a
second. More recent tests of solder-less satellites at the
University of Michigan have been successful, said Peck.

Peck and his colleagues argue this new kind of mini device
could make satellite missions more affordable and feasible.

The propellant-less satellite idea works a lot like a TV. A 'gun'
at the back of the TV shoots out negatively charged electrons.
As they speed towards the viewer, a magnet changes their
direction. On a planetary scale, the electron would be the
satellite zooming around the magnet, in this case the Earth.

As the satellite zooms around the spinning Earth it would
experience a force (known as the Lorentz force) pushing it
at an angle perpendicular to its direction. The satellite would
steal a tiny bit of the Earth's energy to propel it forward.

Other designs using the same principle, including the Electro
Dynamic Tether, have been successfully used in orbit. One
difference between the EDT and the new system is that the
tether has to be aligned in a specific direction, where the
new satellites wouldn't need to be.

Article is also online here:

http://nextbigfuture.com/2008/06/lorentz-force-propulsion-successful.html