                  Rishon
Sabri, 2024To contact the author, please e-mail: rishonsabri@gmail.com |
Case Study: Shields and force fields
 In Star Trek shields are barriers between
space and a starship, used to protect the crew from a wide range of
phenomena from solar flares to alien weapons. Shields and forcefields
are great examples of how technology that seems unattainable can
actually be realistic if the correct technology is applied. In this
case we need to highlight why shields are important, because in space
we need protection so that our biology does not interfere with our
advancement as a civilisation.Three of the main examples of how shields could be implemented in the future are an electrostatic field generator, a magnetic field generator (using plasma that is shaped by a magnetic field) and an inflated magnetic bubble (using a ring of confined plasma). The Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (RAL) in the UK is examining the feasibility of shields that could make the difference between survivable and certain death for astronauts on their way to Mars. Ruth Bamford, the lead researcher for RAL's space deflector shield project said that as a child, she was inspired to explore a scientific career by the Apollo moon landings and is a fan of the Star Trek series. She believes the concepts explored in the science fiction films are a useful shorthand for scientists when trying to explain their work. "Scientists enjoy science fiction, as long as it is based on science, and then extrapolated with imagination"..
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