Radiation shielding of space with magnetic fields may be easier than previously assumed by taking advantage of induced fields in plasmas:
- The Science of Deflector Shields Revolutionised By Discovery Of ‘Radiation Shelters’ On The Moon – Medium – June.9.2014
- An exploration of the effectiveness of artificial mini-magnetospheres as a potential Solar Storm shelter for long term human space missions – [1406.1159]arXiv.org – June.2014
From the Medium article:
Bamford and co say that previous studies of magnetic shields have neglected a crucial ingredient— the natural, low-density plasma that already exists in space.
This plasma is so weak that it consists of just a handful of positive and negative ions in each cubic centimetre of space. But a magnetic field moving through space would sweep these ions ahead of it, causing them to bunch up into a denser region of plasma in front of the spacecraft.
Because of the separation of charge within this plasma, it generates its own electric field. And this turns out to be crucial when it comes to deflecting high-energy particles from the Sun and beyond.