“Spacecraft Design for Science Fiction Authors”

Dr J R Stockton writes:
In sci.space.policy message , Mon, 1
Feb 2010 14:42:25, David Spain posted:
My reply also on your website:

Scott,

I think you should go for it. But I have an ulterior motive.

I would like to see a chapter on the feasibility of an EMP version of
Orion. Instead of a pusher-plate, a giant antenna capable of converting a
goodly percentage of the bomb energy into electricity to power a capacitor
bank powering a hydrogen fed VASIMR. The bomblets would be redesigned to
maximize EMP from a thermonuclear explosion. For use outside Earth orbit.

Your problem is innumeracy combined with a lack of physics.


In this instance I agree with you. In fact Scott pointed out on his blog
that EMP on Earth is created by the Compton effect when nukes are set off
in space above our atmosphere. Nukes set off in deep space w/o a nearby
atmosphere generate no EMP. I had not done my homework. Scott suggests
the best alternative to the pusher-plate concept would appear to be the
MagOrion concept which uses a magnetic field to couple to the bomb plasma
in place of the pusher plate shock absorber system. I don't have the
numbers to determine the efficiency of this compared to the pusher plate,
they may be out there, I have just not seen them.

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

Mea culpa...

Dave