Quote: M Fnord wrote:
There are three major problems here that need to be overcome:
First and biggest is the radiation environment around Io in general and in the flux tube in particular. Can't find figures at the moment, but ISTR
reading that the surface dose on Io approaches "unshielded nuclear reactor" levels. Even with handwavium, that's going to be a tough row to
hoe.
Second's putting together a brake for the system. Generating the power's easy enough - just run a wire through that current and it'll conduct -
but keeping *all* of that power from running down the wire and wrecking the collector would be tricky.
Finally, distribution. All that power's there, but how do you get it out of Juptier's magnetosphere and to the colonies on Europa and Callisto?
1). Radiation shielding is relatively simple, put whatever your trying to shield inside a meter thick jacket of water.
2). Use secondary, and tertiary hulls to create a "Leyden Bottle" effect to collect the power into a very large capacitor to be drained into a
battery.
3). Make electricity collection a byproduct of gas mining/skimming operations to provide atmospheric gases to the starting colonies.
I'd give the above a gross efficiency factor between 5 and 10%.