New Mars Forums

I just wonder if Mars suddenly gained an Earth magnatude magnetic field, say someone littered the surface with bus sized bar magnets, or by moving a large electromagnet around the surface like the write head of a planet sized hard drive, would such a field allow the atmosphere to thicken with the gasses present in the solar wind?

Also might the consentration of energy on the poles (assmuing the magnetic field lines up with the existing poles) add a bit of heat and thus contribute to melting the poles?