Suppose we placed a large wire loop into orbit, say 10 miles in diameter. It’s plenty cold, so it’s superconducting. Then use a solar panel to get current flowing, say 1000A.
The magnetic field generated would be perpendicular to the plane of the loop. Any conductive, ie. metallic debris passing through the nearby region would experience eddy current braking. Any deceleration would send that piece of junk to a lower orbit and maybe a fiery end.
If this thing was in action long enough, it might have a useful impact on the cloud of junk up there.
Thoughts?
The magnetic field generated would be perpendicular to the plane of the loop. Any conductive, ie. metallic debris passing through the nearby region would experience eddy current braking. Any deceleration would send that piece of junk to a lower orbit and maybe a fiery end.
If this thing was in action long enough, it might have a useful impact on the cloud of junk up there.
Thoughts?