Cosmic radiation and safe human spaceflight

[Turtle]

If humans are ever to travel very far into space from our planet, they must have a workable system of shielding from cosmic radiation. While we have a number of threads tangential to this problem but not adressing it solely, I am following up on a request for just that.

So, while I go find links to the tangential threads here is a starter link on cosmic radiation & high altitude human flight.

http://www.unitedafa.org/cmt/shs/rad/radiation.asp

 

Discuss. :lol: ;)

[Mercedes Benzene]

Well, I'm not really interestedin the space and astronomy and things of that nature, but nuclear chemistry is a passion.

Because of my lack of knowledge in the area of cosmic radiation, I cannot really comment accurately on the exposure level based on various places in our solar system.

All I know is what I hear on the news and from NASA press releases.

 

Thanks for the link Turtle. It's helped to clear up some stuff I've been having issues with. :lol:

[Turtle]

Not a problem; we have no shortage of space enthusiast to fill the gap.:lol:

 

I have found 3 pertinent disucssion so far:

 

http://hypography.com/forums/space-news/3056-force-field-astronauts.html#post121384

http://www.newscientistspace.com/article/dn9567-plasma-bubble-could-protect-astronauts-on-mars-trip.html

http://hypography.com/forums/space-news/4178-whos-afraid-solar-flare.html?highlight=Earth%27s+magnetic+field

 

;)

PS The obligatory Wicky primer for "cosmic radiation":

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmic_radiation

[Turtle]

This is goin' nowhere fast, eh mates?:hyper: Let's kick it up a notch & rock!:eek2:

The simplest solution is the most expensive; fire up tons of shielding material with conventional rockets to build your ship in low Earth orbit, then tons of fuel to move the ship once it's built.

Enter then the exotic measures like the elctromagnetic field or the plasma cage mentioned above in an effort to reduce weight & therefore cost.

 

Here's my new bright idea. Focus on getting these NEO's catalogued & radio tagged using a fleet of small robotic probes; we need to do this anyway to get a handle on potential mega-meteor strikes to Earth. So, while we catalogue them we look for one say 600 to 900 meters in diameter made of nickel-iron & when we find it we send out more robot craft to grapple it & bring 'er on in to a stable Earth orbit. Once there, we hollow it out, use the materila for other structure & build crew quarters inside. Now, nudge 'er into an oribt to sling-shot it whichever way you care & away you go, protected from cosmic radiation. Pick up supplies along the way from whichever moon.

That is all I am allowed to say.:eek2:

[Aireal]

Here is my answer to the problem of cosmic radiation. It is a simplified version of a post I made here some time back. I have been working on this problem for 5-6 years now. Despite my many efforts, it has recieved little attention.

 

Radiation Shielding

 

The three main schools of thought on these are: Material Shielding, which has the drawback of mass. A major factor for a ship design. Magnetic Shielding, which is weak points at the poles, much like the Earth does. It also requires a strong magnetic field, which might have its own ill effects, we don't know yet. Electrostatic Shielding, by giving the hull a large positive charge, you can repel cosmic-ray protons. But it creates a bombardment of electrons in the range of its field effect.

 

The key might be to combine the strengths of each of these methods, while reducing their drawbacks. This can give us a reduction in mass and energy requirements over any stand alone system. Lets start with electrostatic shielding and how it can be improved.

 

As stated earlier, a section of a ship can be given a charge to repel like charges, but it attracts like charges. Both positive and negative particles are a problem in space. Instead of charging the outside of the hull around the crew where bombardment would be a problem, move the charged areas to the ends of the ship, away from the crew. Use both a positively and a negatively charged region at opposite ends of the ship, perhaps on extensions to increase distance from the crew area. This will draw charged particles away from the area between the poles, reducing the number headed for the crew area. We have in effect turned the ship into a large dipole.

 

As cosmic radiation bombards the poles of the ship, the charged particles will cause a change in the potential of the dipole we have created. This change in potential will caused the dipole to generate a magnetic field. A magnetic field will also help to deflect cosmic radiation away from the crew area and towards the poles of the ship. As we are using the electrostatic system to generate the magnetic field, there is little to no increase in mass and energy requirements for the added protection. The dipole system could be operated from within the ship to generate a magnetic field instead of depending on the effects of cosmic radiation. I have yet to determine with method would be the most efficient.

 

Material shielding is last on our list. Its use should be limited to vital areas due to mass. Plastics like polyethylene fit the bill of low mass and good protection. Recent work that allows plastics to carry a charge however can make material shielding even more effective. Charged layers of plastic within the plastic shielding, whose charge does not radiate into space, would help to stop charged particles that penetrate the hulls skin. This will increase the effectiveness of material shielding, allowing less to be used for the same degree of protection. An overall reduction in mass.

 

So by combining all three shielding concepts into a single design concept, an overall reduction in mass and energy requirements for protection from cosmic radiation can be achieved.

[TheFaithfulStone]

Thistledown eh Turtle?

 

Aireal, you should check out that New Scientist link - it's similar to the ion engine shield you propose, but kind of solves the 2 billion volt potential difference you deal with.

 

tfs

[Turtle]

Thistledown eh Turtle?

tfs

Is that a trivia reference, or a riddle for me? :) Either way it is an apt approbation for my visualization. Operation THISTLEDOWN it is. TinyHighorbitInsertedTriLeggedExcursionDevelopmentOperatingOutworldWeedseedNanobots :)

[Aireal]

Thanks TheFaithfulStone

 

I think I found the right one, any how it was a new concept, and not one I have seen before. Actually I found two new things related to my work on that site. Thanks.

[TheFaithfulStone]

No, it's a reference to EON by Greg Bear, which has a hollowed out asteroid spacship, although I think it also transports people to different sections of the galaxy via maaaagic or something.

 

tfs

[Aireal]

TheFaithfulStone

 

No, I missed that one.

 

On another forum I posted on the ide of building an artificial asteroid, and hollowing them out. They would be a byproduct of asteroid mining. Why waste material? Besides, rock is good at stopping radiation. As for moving one, thats a whole new ballgame.