Kylie Sutherland, Q2
Steve Miller, Q4
Lourdes Quevedo, Q5
Scientific Research Report: Force Fields
Introduction
“Shields up!” is a phrase taken for granted in any Star Trek movie or television episode. But the avid viewer knows exactly what it means. The Starship Enterprise is now protected by an invisible deflector and the enemy or whatever danger lies ahead has little chance of causing damage or injury to the ship and its crew. Force fields are commonplace in other movies, TV shows, and books based on science fiction, just like horses are a typical feature in westerns. But the question still remains: Could force fields actually exist? Based on current research in physics and engineering, science and technology is getting closer and closer to the possibility of producing force fields.
What would be some applications of force fields?
According to the University of Washington, one of the more pressing issues in space exploration is protecting astronauts from radiation in outer space. Traveling to Mars would require some sort of force field to shield astronauts from cosmic radiation in outer space because the Earth’s magnetic field would no longer provide them with that protection(Shiga). If force fields were possible, Michio Kaku, an American physicist and author of Physics of the Impossible, believes they would be used by the military branches to protect various parts of our country, by businesses to ensure the safety of the skyscrapers, by colonists that decide to develop communities underwater, and by cities to control their local weather and climate.
How would they work?
NASA’s Institute for Advanced Concepts provided the University of Washington a grant to study the use of a plasma bubble made of hydrogen. The plasma bubble would be made of protons and electrons released from hydrogen atoms that are split using some sort of electrical charge. The idea would require that the spacecraft be surrounded by a wire mesh to keep the plasma around the spacecraft instead of flying out into space (Shiga). In 1995, Ady Herschcovitch developed a plasma window for non vacuum electron-beam welding which is currently used instead of traditional welding in automotive, aircraft, and medical equipment manufacturing. Typically, electron-beam welding only works in a vacuum setting where all of the air is removed from the space requiring additional equipment and energy. The plasma window, according to Herschcovitch, is similar to “the ‘force field window’ in the shuttle bay area of the Starship Enterprise in Star Trek. The ‘force field’ separates atmospheric pressure in the Enterprise from the vacuum in outer space.” The plasma window acts as a barrier, held in place by magnetic and electrical fields, between the space that contains air and the space that does not contain air. Kaku states that this plasma window is the closest thing we currently have to a force field. He speculates that the plasma window could be used in conjunction with a layer of criss crossing laser beams and a wire-mesh covering made of carbon nanotubes to form a possible force field with a few imperfections.
Does it require an energy source? And if so, what would it be?
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Analysis
Whether in science fiction or real life, force fields seem to be a logical answer to many needs currently facing our nation and planet. The desire to protect human life drives much of the current research in the development of “force fields.” As climate change becomes a formidable foe to our existence on planet Earth, maybe force fields could work as a possible solution to control our own weather as suggested by Kaku. Plasma windows will most likely lead to further research and development and might possibly produce an entirely new field of science. Based on the findings detailed in this report, our group believes small, localized force fields in a laboratory setting could be possible in the near future but we are still a long way from protecting a spacecraft or a city much like what is portrayed in science fiction books and movies. Still, the possibilities are out there. Or as Captain Picard would say “engage” and “make it so.”
Literature Cited
Kaku, Michio. “Physics of the Impossible: A Scientific Exploration into the World of Phasers Force Fields, Teleportation, and Time Travel.” New York: Doubleday, 2008.
"Plasma Window." Plasma Window. Brookhaven National Laboratory, 11 Dec. 2001. Web. 5 May
2014. <https://www.bnl.gov/bnlweb/pubaf/pr/2001/bnlpr121101b.htm>.
Shiga, David. "Plasma Bubble Could Protect Astronauts on Mars Trip." - Space. New Scientist,
17 July 2006. Web. 4 May 2014.
