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Could magnets be used for interstellar propulsion?

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  Could magnets be used for interstellar propulsion? Jan Panteltje <alien@comet.invalid> - 2026-02-01 11:57 +0000
    Re: Could magnets be used for interstellar propulsion? ram@zedat.fu-berlin.de (Stefan Ram) - 2026-02-01 12:57 +0000
      Re: Could magnets be used for interstellar propulsion? Jan Panteltje <alien@comet.invalid> - 2026-02-01 16:44 +0000
        Re: Could magnets be used for interstellar propulsion? ram@zedat.fu-berlin.de (Stefan Ram) - 2026-02-01 16:55 +0000
          Re: Could magnets be used for interstellar propulsion? Ian <gay@sfu.ca> - 2026-02-01 16:19 -0800
            Re: Could magnets be used for interstellar propulsion? Thomas 'PointedEars' Lahn <PointedEars@web.de> - 2026-02-02 05:35 +0100
            Re: Could magnets be used for interstellar propulsion? Thomas 'PointedEars' Lahn <PointedEars@web.de> - 2026-02-02 05:40 +0100
              Re: Could magnets be used for interstellar propulsion? John Hasler <john@sugarbit.com> - 2026-02-02 08:02 -0600
                Re: Could magnets be used for interstellar propulsion? Jan Panteltje <alien@comet.invalid> - 2026-02-02 14:44 +0000
                Re: Could magnets be used for interstellar propulsion? Thomas 'PointedEars' Lahn <PointedEars@web.de> - 2026-02-03 04:54 +0100
              Re: Could magnets be used for interstellar propulsion? john larkin <jl@glen--canyon.com> - 2026-02-02 07:20 -0800
                Re: Could magnets be used for interstellar propulsion? ram@zedat.fu-berlin.de (Stefan Ram) - 2026-02-02 16:30 +0000
                  Re: Could magnets be used for interstellar propulsion? ram@zedat.fu-berlin.de (Stefan Ram) - 2026-02-02 19:27 +0000
                Re: Could magnets be used for interstellar propulsion? Thomas 'PointedEars' Lahn <PointedEars@web.de> - 2026-02-02 22:55 +0100
              Re: Could magnets be used for interstellar propulsion? Ian <gay@sfu.ca> - 2026-02-02 14:30 -0800
                Re: Could magnets be used for interstellar propulsion? Thomas 'PointedEars' Lahn <PointedEars@web.de> - 2026-02-03 02:03 +0100
      Re: Could magnets be used for interstellar propulsion? ram@zedat.fu-berlin.de (Stefan Ram) - 2026-02-09 14:19 +0000
    Re: Could magnets be used for interstellar propulsion? Bill Sloman <bill.sloman@ieee.org> - 2026-02-02 00:41 +1100
      Re: Could magnets be used for interstellar propulsion? "Edward Rawde" <invalid@invalid.invalid> - 2026-02-01 09:58 -0500
      Re: Could magnets be used for interstellar propulsion? Jeremiah Jones <jj@j.j> - 2026-02-02 08:50 -0800
        Re: Could magnets be used for interstellar propulsion? john larkin <jl@glen--canyon.com> - 2026-02-02 09:28 -0800
        Re: Could magnets be used for interstellar propulsion? John Hasler <john@sugarbit.com> - 2026-02-02 11:49 -0600
          Re: Could magnets be used for interstellar propulsion? Phil Hobbs <pcdhSpamMeSenseless@electrooptical.net> - 2026-02-02 14:23 -0500
            Re: Could magnets be used for interstellar propulsion? john larkin <jl@glen--canyon.com> - 2026-02-02 12:39 -0800
              Re: Could magnets be used for interstellar propulsion? Phil Hobbs <pcdhSpamMeSenseless@electrooptical.net> - 2026-02-02 15:53 -0500
        Re: Could magnets be used for interstellar propulsion? John Hasler <john@sugarbit.com> - 2026-02-02 11:43 -0600
        Re: Could magnets be used for interstellar propulsion? ehsjr <ehsjr@verizon.net> - 2026-02-02 16:49 -0500
          Re: Could magnets be used for interstellar propulsion? Jeremiah Jones <jj@j.j> - 2026-02-02 20:42 -0800
            Re: Could magnets be used for interstellar propulsion? Thomas 'PointedEars' Lahn <PointedEars@web.de> - 2026-02-04 20:11 +0100
              Re: Could magnets be used for interstellar propulsion? Jeremiah Jones <jj@j.j> - 2026-02-05 16:24 -0800
                Re: Could magnets be used for interstellar propulsion? Thomas 'PointedEars' Lahn <PointedEars@web.de> - 2026-02-06 02:09 +0100
                  Re: Could magnets be used for interstellar propulsion? Jeremiah Jones <jj@j.j> - 2026-02-06 00:24 -0800
                    Re: Could magnets be used for interstellar propulsion? Bill Sloman <bill.sloman@ieee.org> - 2026-02-06 20:18 +1100
                Re: Could magnets be used for interstellar propulsion? Bill Sloman <bill.sloman@ieee.org> - 2026-02-06 18:07 +1100
                  Re: Could magnets be used for interstellar propulsion? Thomas 'PointedEars' Lahn <PointedEars@web.de> - 2026-02-07 01:54 +0100
                    Re: Could magnets be used for interstellar propulsion? Jeremiah Jones <jj@j.j> - 2026-02-07 19:48 -0800
                      Re: Could magnets be used for interstellar propulsion? athel.cb@gmail.com <user12588@newsgrouper.org.invalid> - 2026-02-08 11:42 +0000
            Re: Could magnets be used for interstellar propulsion? john larkin <jl@glen--canyon.com> - 2026-02-05 16:48 -0800
          Re: Could magnets be used for interstellar propulsion? Thomas 'PointedEars' Lahn <PointedEars@web.de> - 2026-02-04 16:36 +0100
            Re: Could magnets be used for interstellar propulsion? john larkin <jl@glen--canyon.com> - 2026-02-04 08:49 -0800
            Re: Could magnets be used for interstellar propulsion? John Hasler <john@sugarbit.com> - 2026-02-04 10:58 -0600
              Re: Could magnets be used for interstellar propulsion? Thomas 'PointedEars' Lahn <PointedEars@web.de> - 2026-02-04 19:44 +0100
            Re: Could magnets be used for interstellar propulsion? john larkin <jl@glen--canyon.com> - 2026-02-04 18:21 -0800
        Re: Could magnets be used for interstellar propulsion? Bill Sloman <bill.sloman@ieee.org> - 2026-02-03 15:54 +1100
          Re: Could magnets be used for interstellar propulsion? Jeremiah Jones <jj@j.j> - 2026-02-03 20:35 -0800
            Re: Could magnets be used for interstellar propulsion? Bill Sloman <bill.sloman@ieee.org> - 2026-02-04 16:59 +1100
            Re: Could magnets be used for interstellar propulsion? Thomas 'PointedEars' Lahn <PointedEars@web.de> - 2026-02-04 16:58 +0100
            Re: Could magnets be used for interstellar propulsion? ram@zedat.fu-berlin.de (Stefan Ram) - 2026-02-05 14:35 +0000
        Re: Could magnets be used for interstellar propulsion? Thomas 'PointedEars' Lahn <PointedEars@web.de> - 2026-02-04 16:23 +0100
    Re: Could magnets be used for interstellar propulsion? Colin <colin@example.invalid> - 2026-02-01 18:31 +0000
      Re: Could magnets be used for interstellar propulsion? Jan Panteltje <alien@comet.invalid> - 2026-02-02 05:54 +0000

Page 3 of 3 — ← Prev page 1 2 [3]

#895055

ehsjr writes:
> We'll start orbiting the sun in the opposite direction.

PointedEars writes:
> I hope this is just sarcasm,

It obviously is.
-- 
John Hasler 
john@sugarbit.com
Dancing Horse Hill
Elmwood, WI USA

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#895056

[Quotation fixed.  Please read
<https://www.netmeister.org/news/learn2quote.html>]

John Hasler wrote:
> ehsjr writes:
>> PointedEars writes:
>>> We'll start orbiting the sun in the opposite direction.
>> I hope this is just sarcasm, [...]
> 
> It obviously is.

One can never be sure on Usenet where the tone of the voice cannot be heard,
and the facial expression of the author cannot be seen.  Fortunately, short
of a Sarcasm Sign[tm] there is a smiley to indicate sarcasm: :->

-- 
PointedEars

Twitter: @PointedEars2
Please do not cc me. / Bitte keine Kopien per E-Mail.

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#895060

On Wed, 4 Feb 2026 16:36:16 +0100, Thomas 'PointedEars' Lahn
<PointedEars@web.de> wrote:

>ehsjr wrote in sci.electronics.design, sci.astro, sci.physics:
>> On 2/2/2026 11:50 AM, Jeremiah Jones wrote:
>>> Bill Sloman <bill.sloman@ieee.org> wrote:
>>>> On 1/02/2026 10:57 pm, Jan Panteltje wrote:
>>>>> I was watching some stuff of magnetic field lines in the universe
>>>>> that I recoded last week from  zdfinfo.de
>>>>>    https://www.zdf.de/dokus/geheimnisvolles-universum-100
>>>>> It seems those are playing a much bigger role in the forming of galaxies and stars and the 'big bang' in the latest research.
>>>>>
>>>>> So that makes me wonder if a spacecraft with just a permanent magnet
>>>>> that you can move to give you a force in the direction you want to go
>>>>> could be used as a simple fuel-less drive?
>>>>> Electromagnets should work too of course.
>>>>>
>>>>> Any aliens here that have used it?
>>>>
>>>> Earth has a magnetic field, and nobody uses magnets to drag boats or
>>>> aircraft around.
>>>
>>> Earth *is* a magnet.  It is pushed by the magnetic fields of the sun and
>>> galaxies.  That's what makes the earth go round the sun.
>
>Utter nonsense.

A little nonsense now and then
Is cherished by the wisest men.

- Willy Wonka



John Larkin
Highland Tech Glen Canyon Design Center
Lunatic Fringe Electronics

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#895047

On 3/02/2026 3:50 am, Jeremiah Jones wrote:
> Bill Sloman <bill.sloman@ieee.org> wrote:
>> On 1/02/2026 10:57 pm, Jan Panteltje wrote:
>>> I was watching some stuff of magnetic field lines in the universe
>>> that I recoded last week from  zdfinfo.de
>>>    https://www.zdf.de/dokus/geheimnisvolles-universum-100
>>> It seems those are playing a much bigger role in the forming of galaxies and stars and the 'big bang' in the latest research.
>>>
>>> So that makes me wonder if a spacecraft with just a permanent magnet
>>> that you can move to give you a force in the direction you want to go
>>> could be used as a simple fuel-less drive?
>>> Electromagnets should work too of course.
>>>
>>> Any aliens here that have used it?
>>
>> Earth has a magnetic field, and nobody uses magnets to drag boats or
>> aircraft around.
> 
> 
> Earth *is* a magnet.  It is pushed by the magnetic fields of the sun and
> galaxies.  That's what makes the earth go round the sun.

It isn't. The magnetic fields around the sun are pretty erratic. Earth's 
rotation around the Sun isn't.

-- 
Bill Sloman, Sydney

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#895049

Bill Sloman <bill.sloman@ieee.org> wrote:
> On 3/02/2026 3:50 am, Jeremiah Jones wrote:
> > Bill Sloman <bill.sloman@ieee.org> wrote:
> >> On 1/02/2026 10:57 pm, Jan Panteltje wrote:
> >>> I was watching some stuff of magnetic field lines in the universe
> >>> that I recoded last week from  zdfinfo.de
> >>>    https://www.zdf.de/dokus/geheimnisvolles-universum-100
> >>> It seems those are playing a much bigger role in the forming of galaxies and stars and the 'big bang' in the latest research.
> >>>
> >>> So that makes me wonder if a spacecraft with just a permanent magnet
> >>> that you can move to give you a force in the direction you want to go
> >>> could be used as a simple fuel-less drive?
> >>> Electromagnets should work too of course.
> >>>
> >>> Any aliens here that have used it?
> >>
> >> Earth has a magnetic field, and nobody uses magnets to drag boats or
> >> aircraft around.
> > 
> > 
> > Earth *is* a magnet.  It is pushed by the magnetic fields of the sun and
> > galaxies.  That's what makes the earth go round the sun.
> 
> It isn't. The magnetic fields around the sun are pretty erratic. Earth's 
> rotation around the Sun isn't.

The earth is big and heavy and full of iron and stuff.  It smooths out
the fuzz in the sun's magnetism and keeps a lid on the magnetic
typhoons.  Otherwise the sun would be flipping its poles every day.

Nasa studies all this.  Check there website.

They also said earth rotates around its axis, not the sun.

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#895050

On 4/02/2026 3:35 pm, Jeremiah Jones wrote:
> Bill Sloman <bill.sloman@ieee.org> wrote:
>> On 3/02/2026 3:50 am, Jeremiah Jones wrote:
>>> Bill Sloman <bill.sloman@ieee.org> wrote:
>>>> On 1/02/2026 10:57 pm, Jan Panteltje wrote:
>>>>> I was watching some stuff of magnetic field lines in the universe
>>>>> that I recoded last week from  zdfinfo.de
>>>>>     https://www.zdf.de/dokus/geheimnisvolles-universum-100
>>>>> It seems those are playing a much bigger role in the forming of galaxies and stars and the 'big bang' in the latest research.
>>>>>
>>>>> So that makes me wonder if a spacecraft with just a permanent magnet
>>>>> that you can move to give you a force in the direction you want to go
>>>>> could be used as a simple fuel-less drive?
>>>>> Electromagnets should work too of course.
>>>>>
>>>>> Any aliens here that have used it?
>>>>
>>>> Earth has a magnetic field, and nobody uses magnets to drag boats or
>>>> aircraft around.
>>>
>>>
>>> Earth *is* a magnet.  It is pushed by the magnetic fields of the sun and
>>> galaxies.  That's what makes the earth go round the sun.
>>
>> It isn't. The magnetic fields around the sun are pretty erratic. Earth's
>> rotation around the Sun isn't.
> 
> The earth is big and heavy and full of iron and stuff.  It smooths out
> the fuzz in the sun's magnetism and keeps a lid on the magnetic
> typhoons.  Otherwise the sun would be flipping its poles every day.

The sun doesn't have a single magnetic pole. It has lots of complicated 
magnetic structures in the solar corona, none of which are influenced by 
the earth - though magnetic storms in the solar corona can influence the 
earth.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrington_Event

which doesn't seem to have affected the earth's rotation, or it's 
orbital progress around the sun.

> Nasa studies all this.  Check their website.

I'm aware of their web-sites. You don't seem to understand what they are 
telling you.

> They also said earth rotates around its axis, not the sun.

The earth does rotate around it's own axis. It is also in an elliptical 
orbit around the sun.

-- 
Bill Sloman, Sydney

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#895053

Jeremiah Jones <jj@j.j> crossposted to sci.electronics.design, sci.astro,
and sci.physics:
                ^^^^^^
You need to specify an actual e-mail address there:
<https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc5536#section-3.1.2>

> Bill Sloman <bill.sloman@ieee.org> wrote:
>> On 3/02/2026 3:50 am, Jeremiah Jones wrote:
>>> Earth [...] is pushed by the magnetic fields of the sun and
>>> galaxies.  That's what makes the earth go round the sun.
>>
>> It isn't. The magnetic fields around the sun are pretty erratic. Earth's 
>> rotation around the Sun isn't.
> 
> The earth is big

Correct.

> and heavy

Not really; it is in free fall, so it has no weight.  But it has a large
_mass_, ca. 5.97 * 10^24 kg.

> and full of iron and stuff.

It consists of a lot of iron and other chemical elements that we call
"heavy" in astronomy (all chemical elements with an atomic mass larger
than helium are called "heavy" or "metals" in astrophysics :))

> It smooths out the fuzz in the sun's magnetism

That's such a nonsense, it's not even wrong.

> and keeps a lid on the magnetic typhoons.

There is no such thing.

> Otherwise the sun would be flipping its poles every day.

That is not how it works.

> Nasa studies all this.

NASA studies the geomagnetic field (but ISTM that NOAA studies it more), not
what you are claiming.

<https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/>

> Check there website.

Check it yourself.  You will find that you have misunderstood a lot of
things in this regard:

<https://science.nasa.gov/sun/solar-storms-and-flares/>

> They also said earth rotates around its axis,

That is correct.

> not the sun.

The motion of (the planet) Terra (Earth) around (the star) Sol (the Sun) is
simply not *called* "rotation" (except by ignorant people).

It is called _revolution_ or _orbiting_: the curve that is described by
Earth in its (translatory) motion around Sol more precisely, the barycenter
of the Sol System) is called "orbit"; it is approximately an ellipse.

So *that* was probably meant in a text by NASA that you might have read.

F'up2 sci.astro

-- 
PointedEars

Twitter: @PointedEars2
Please do not cc me. / Bitte keine Kopien per E-Mail.

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#895062

Jeremiah Jones <jj@j.j> wrote or quoted:
>The earth is big and heavy and full of iron and stuff.  It smooths out
>the fuzz in the sun's magnetism and keeps a lid on the magnetic
>typhoons.

  Earth's magnetic field shields our atmosphere and us from
  dangerous solar particles. And there are hot regions in
  Earth beneath Africa and the Pacific Ocean that stabilized
  the Earth's magnetic field. 

  "Mantle heterogeneity influenced Earth's ancient magnetic field"
  (2026-02-03) - A. J. Biggin et al.

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#895051

Jeremiah Jones wrote:
> Bill Sloman <bill.sloman@ieee.org> wrote:
>> Earth has a magnetic field, and nobody uses magnets to drag boats or 
>> aircraft around.
> 
> Earth *is* a magnet.

You could say that, *because* it has a (non-zero) magnetic field (not
vice-versa).  An object is not a magnet /per se/.

> It is pushed by the magnetic fields of the sun and galaxies.

Not enough.

> That's what makes the earth go round the sun.

No, that's nonsense.  The best explanation that we have for that is
_gravitation_.  Gravitation is NOT the same as magnetism.

Terra (Earth) orbits the barycenter of the Sol System because it formed from
a rotating planetary disk.  That disk was rotating because it formed from
the rotating part of a molecular cloud at the same time as Sol (the Sun)
formed; it was what was left over from the star's formation (the star formed
because that part of the cloud had cooled enough by emitting radiation, and
was dense enough so that gravitation caused it to collapse on itself; the
collapse caused its density to increase further, and its temperature to
increase again, eventually that much that nuclear fusion became possible and
likely). That piece was rotating, because small imbalances in mass (perhaps
supported by a nearby supernova) cause particles of a molecular cloud to
move in different directions, and when they become too close, they begin to
orbit each other (or rather their common barycenter) due to gravitation.

This is not just a story or a model anymore because we can observe it in the
formation of other stars and their planetary systems.

F'up2 sci.astro

-- 
PointedEars

Twitter: @PointedEars2
Please do not cc me. / Bitte keine Kopien per E-Mail.

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#895020

I don't know, but it wouldn't be fuel-less: you'd still need energy to
move the magnet, wouldn't you?

On 2026-02-01, Jan Panteltje <alien@comet.invalid> wrote:
> I was watching some stuff of magnetic field lines in the universe
> that I recoded last week from  zdfinfo.de
>  https://www.zdf.de/dokus/geheimnisvolles-universum-100
> It seems those are playing a much bigger role in the forming of galaxies 
> and stars and the 'big bang' in the latest research.
>
> So that makes me wonder if a spacecraft with just a permanent magnet
> that you can move to give you a force in the direction you want to go
> could be used as a simple fuel-less drive?
> Electromagnets should work too of course.
>
> Any aliens here that have used it?
>
>

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#895025

>Colin <colin@example.invalid>wrote:
>>I don't know, but it wouldn't be fuel-less: you'd still need energy to
>move the magnet, wouldn't you?

Sure but that is like a ship rudder.. not so much energy as for propulsion?

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