During the academic semesters the plasma physics department hosts seminars on Tuesday at 2:30 pm.
If you have questions or want to suggest a speaker/topic, please contact Prof. Olga Rosmej or Dr. Paul Neumayer.

Plasmaphysik Seminar

Deflector shields for spacecraft and lunar swirls

by Dr Ruth Bamford (STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory)

Europe/Berlin
Seminarraum Theorie (SB3 3.170a) (GSI Darmstadt)

Seminarraum Theorie (SB3 3.170a)

GSI Darmstadt

Description
Spacecraft in interplanetary space, and the radiation belts are vulnerable to `cosmic rays’. Solar storms produce large numbers of energetic ions and electrons that can penetrate and disrupt solar panels, electronics and human tissue. Due to their larger mass, the energetic ions are the greater hazard as they are not easily stopped. Thick material cladding around vulnerable parts of the vessel provides diminishing effectiveness at the higher energies. Their transit through the material can create a worse hazard by activating the material and/or generating cascades of neutrons on the inside the vehicle or space station. Ideas of electromagnetically deflecting the energetic charged particles from the vicinity of the spacecraft to prevent them from ever impacting, have been around for decades. Instinctively there is an elegance to the idea that has inspired many in science fiction who are unbound by practical concerns. The reality is these schemes fall down due to unrealistically high power requirements needed to create the size of electromagnetic field calculated to be needed. Proponents over the years have focused on optimising the engineering on board the spacecraft. Until recently nobody has reexamined how the particles interact with the magnetic or electric field. It is assumed to be straightforward vacuum single particle dynamics - that electric fields slow down/speed up charged particles and magnetic fields bend their trajectory around field lines. However, laboratory experiments and analysis of natural ‘deflector shields’ in space such as lunar mini-magnetospheres, have shown that this is not that simple and that artificially creating The question then becomes: how does this change the potential for effective active shielding for manned interplanetary spacecraft and/or satellites in the radiation belt? Evidence that these principles will be presented from laboratory Solar Wind Tunnel experiments and analysis of natural magnetic shielding occurring on the Moon. Quantitative validation comes from side-by-side comparisons between 3D PIC simulations and in-situ observations from international missions of the mini-magnetospheres produced above the Lunar crustal magnetic anomalies. The result is an explanation to the 400 year old mystery of the origin of the curious phenomena of ‘Lunar Swirls’.