Science, Fiction, Life

Force Fields and Plasma Shields

I was always a fan of the Protoss: super-advanced technology, powerful units, and those awesome plasma shields protecting everything from the lowliest probe to gigantic carriers. But I always wondered: could those force fields really work?

Well… Sort of.

It really depends on your definition of a force field and what you want to prevent from passing through. Electric and magnetic fields can exert forces on charged objects, so you could call those “force fields.” If you accept that definition, then there have actually been some NASA studies of how to use force fields on spacecraft and lunar bases.

One of the biggest problems facing human space exploration (aside from the politics) is that space is a dangerous place for humans. Even if we can launch people to Mars, there is a lot of radiation out there, both from the sun and from high-energy events out in the galaxy. That’s why two studies at NASA’s Institute for Advanced Concepts (which has, sadly, been canceled due to lack of funding) looked into deflecting the radiation with electromagnetic shields.

A lot of the radiation in space is in the form of charged particles: electrons, protons, and even larger atomic nuclei. If you remember your science classes, charged particles are attracted to objects with an opposite charge and repelled by objects with the same charge. So if you want to protect your lunar base, you just set up some strategically placed charged spheres, like so:

A NASA study suggested using charged spheres above a lunar base to create a force field to deflect radiation.

The other NIAC study focused on protecting the crew during long-duration missions. Even with advances in propulsion technology, it will still take months to get to Mars, and all the while the crew will be bombarded with radiation. Unless their ship is shielded! This concept would shield the spacecraft by using powerful magnetic fields to divert the solar wind plasma. “Plasma” in physics refers to a gas in which the atoms have been stripped of some (or all) of their electrons. That means that the plasma can be shaped by magnetic fields, creating a safe zone where the crew of the ship could stay protected.

You’re actually being protected from radiation by just such a shield right now! The Earth’s magnetic field diverts the solar wind and prevents it from hitting the surface, except at the poles. That’s why you only see auroras at the north and south pole: that is where all the solar wind plasma is being funneled down to hit the upper atmosphere. When the radiation hits the atmosphere, it excites the atoms and causes them to glow in the familiar colors of the aurora. The concept for the shielded ship would essentially create a miniature magnetosphere to protect the crew.

A computer simulation of plasma hitting a magnetic field and being diverted. Red is denser plasma (and therefore more radiation), black is less dense. The researchers confirmed this result in the lab. (Figure from Bamford et al., 2008)

Ok, but let’s be honest: those shields are not nearly as cool as the protoss plasma shields. We want something that can stop bullets! We want to deflect hydralisk spines!

Well, I’m afraid nothing quite so awesome exists yet, but there is one bit of technology that is similar: plasma windows. These are narrow slabs of plasma confined by – you guessed it – magnetic fields. They actually have a lot in common with science fictional plasma shields! The hotter a plasma gets, the more viscous it gets, so plasma windows are actually able to act as a strong barrier between air and hard vacuum. Presumably, with enough energy you could create a plasma window capable of blocking more substantial regular matter. Right now plasma windows are tiny, but again, with a huge supply of energy, they could possibly be made larger. Interestingly, plasma windows do not block laser light or electron beams, so even if larger versions were made, they would not protect against weapons that used those forms of radiation.

Wrapping plasma windows all the way around something in a sphere would be very difficult, and projecting a shield onto a distant target, like the Terran science vessel’s “defensive matrix” capability is definitely not possible with today’s technology and understanding of physics.

So, unfortunately, plasma shields exactly like the ones that protect Protoss units are not realistic, but there are various force fields and plasma-shield-like technologies being developed. We may not be able to keep out bullets or zerglings, but some of the shields being developed block a much more realistic threat to human explorers: radiation.

References:

Lunar Base Electrostatic Shield

Plasma Windows

ResearchBlogging.orgBamford, R., Gibson, K., Thornton, A., Bradford, J., Bingham, R., Gargate, L., Silva, L., Fonseca, R., Hapgood, M., Norberg, C., Todd, T., & Stamper, R. (2008). The interaction of a flowing plasma with a dipole magnetic field: measurements and modelling of a diamagnetic cavity relevant to spacecraft protection Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion, 50 (12) DOI: 10.1088/0741-3335/50/12/124025

7 Comments

  1. Kevin

    That’s funny about the plasma windows because in Halo all energy weapons are blocked by energy barriers and force fields but some allow particle weapons to pass through in one direction.

  2. robtheviking

    that’s pretty cool. There are advances being made with cloaking technology that divert electromagnetic frequencies around an object using nano material surface manipulation. So maybe if a powerful enough power source can create plasma windows, maybe a cloak can protect the vessel from laser weaponry by allowing them to pass right by them. Problem is, they aren’t absorbing the impact of the weapon and therefore, if they’re trying to protect a structure, the structure would take damage! Or perhaps the ground around them would take damage and eventually dig a hole underneath them! 😛 crazy cool topic. Try to get Husky to promote this!

  3. Pokerist

    Thanks for all the info, really! 🙂

  4. LunaNMM

    hmmm what if instead of a plasma “field/shield” its moar of a plasma detection system. when it detects anything harmful (some how, speed of projectile, AI identifyer) it could send pulses of plasma while being controlled by a very dexterous magnetic field to intercept the incoming “something”?

  5. LunaNMM

    also if u take the crystals taht r being tested on inside they hyperion that ammount of power crystal could even out the power/ supply power to a giant battle cruser, give or take thats about 20-25% of the hyperions total power supply/gen. sooo if u have about 15x taht amount of crystals you could have enough power to power a powerful electro magnetic field and maybe a plasma generator given the tech of course. if u had all this stuff and the know how to use it etc etc etc you could make a giant plasma bubble around the hyperion =). thats just my idea idk. and plus most likely protoss shields have something to do with electro magentic fields since a emp whipes out thier shields.

  6. LunaNMM

    also if u had floating / fly nano bots powered by protoss crystals ofc. it could emit its own magnetic field infront/ or facing away from the unit to hold the plasma in place when the unit emits the plasma pulse =D

  7. Androkguz

    I propose that the starcraft universe includes a 5th kind of force which I hereby call psionic force, whose interaction particle is the psion and which is only generated (but can be redirected) by minds. Terrans don’t get it: only ghosts even show a notable capacity of using them. Zerg use it with their higher minds: Kerrigan has psionic powers, the Overmind can open a wormhole in to have the swarm travel through space.
    But it is the protoss who are the masters of this kind of force: in fact, it is second nature to them. You may call this “handwaving” but I would call it “applied phlebotomy”.

Leave a Reply to Androkguz Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

© 2024 Ryan Anderson

Theme by Anders NorenUp ↑