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Sci-fi inspired tractor beams are real, and could solve a major space junk problem
(www.livescience.com)
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this post was submitted on 31 Oct 2023
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This headline is a lie: a prototype is 10 years off according to the article ๐ cool research tho. Seems lacking in the practical application side.
A cure for cancer was also 10 years off... 30 years ago... and it still is 10 years off.
We do have solid cures for several different kinds of cancers. Cancer is not 1 illness. Nevertheless, I get what you're trying to say.
Maybe should've gone with cold fusion as an example haha
Cold fusion was always a hoax, as far as I know. Regular hot fusion has been 20 years away for 50 years, but we may at last be seeing some progress. ITER is finally being assembled (very slowly), and some of the newer startups like Helion and Commonwealth Fusion Systems seem promising. NIF also achieved Q > 1 last year, but inertial confinement doesn't easily scale up to a power plant.
That does sound promising! So probably about 20yrs now then?
Well in a kind of way they have achieved their goal it's just that incrementally creeping up on it rather than one big ground event. If you have cancer now your life expectancy is much better than it was 30 years ago. And in 10 years it'll be even better.
Same with fusion. We're getting closer and closer to actually having the technology.
People don't like to hear it but technological development and progress is slow and kind of boring for the most part.
It used to be. Still is, but it used to too.
Agreed, I also have concerns about shooting an electron beam, the accumulated charge on the tow vehicle is going to build up over time.
I don't think that would happen (very much depends on the set up), but either way it'll just naturally resolve itself. Even in high orbits, there's plenty of gas molecules bumping around, charged things will preferentially bump into things with the opposing charge, so the residual atmosphere can probably carry most of that charge away. It all depends on the relative rates though.
Yes it can dissipate, but you are likely to see some ESD effects.
Curious to see which bus manufacturer eventually takes it on.
Probably just has a relatively short mission profile.
They say their tool is cost effective as it can be used for a long time, so who knows.