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#351 2024-03-06 11:47:39

tahanson43206
Moderator
Registered: 2018-04-27
Posts: 16,756

Re: Colonizing / terraforming small asteroids

Here is a result provided by Gemini, using a calculation for field strength provided by ChatGPT4

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We've been given a value for strength of the 1 Tesla field at 40 meters: 40m - 0.000016 Tesla. Please use that figure to compute the force on the washer at that distance. Please be sure to stay on the axis of the magnet so that the gradient question is not involved.

Gemini reply:

Absolutely! Now that we have the confirmed magnetic field strength (B_2) at 40 meters (0.000016 Tesla) and the force on the washer at 1 meter (F_1) from the previous calculations (based on material properties), we can estimate the force at the new distance.

Given:

Magnetic field strength at 1 meter (B_1) = 1 Tesla
Magnetic field strength at 40 meters (B_2) = 0.000016 Tesla
Force on washer at 1 meter (F_1) (based on material properties - we can use either high or low susceptibility scenario)
Unknown:

Force on washer at 40 meters (F_2)
Calculation:

The force on a magnetic moment (m) in a magnetic field (B) is proportional to the field strength:

F = m x B

Assuming the magnetic moment of the washer (m) remains relatively constant (dependent on the material properties), we can estimate the force at 40 meters using the following relationship:

F_2 ≈ F_1 * (B_2 / B_1)

Using the high susceptibility scenario (F_1 ≈ 5 grams):

F_2 ≈ 5 grams * (0.000016 T / 1 T) ≈ 8.0 x 10^-8 grams

Using the lower susceptibility scenario (F_1 ≈ 1 gram):

F_2 ≈ 1 gram * (0.000016 T / 1 T) ≈ 1.6 x 10^-8 grams

As expected, the force on the washer at 40 meters is significantly weaker compared to the values at 1 meter due to the much lower magnetic field strength (160 million times weaker).

Important Note: These are estimations based on the assumption that the magnetic moment of the washer remains constant. In reality, the washer's magnetic behavior might be slightly influenced by the weaker field at the new location.

Therefore, depending on the washer's material properties:

In the high susceptibility scenario, the estimated force on the washer at 40 meters is approximately 8.0 x 10^-8 grams.
In the lower susceptibility scenario, the estimated force on the washer at 40 meters is approximately 1.6 x 10^-8 grams.
These forces are incredibly small and likely undetectable with typical measurement equipment.

What the results suggest is that due to the inverse cube law, the force of a 1 Tesla magnet on one side of an asteroid would not be measurable on the other side.

This does not mean that Void's original idea would not work.  What it means is that a person planning to use this method needs to understand the inverse cube law.

(th)

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