Mobile Ground
A basketball sized can that can diffuse up to a typical lightning bolt's worth of energy into gamma rays. In 100 words.
This basketball-sized, airtight, octahedral device houses a super-magnet that perpetually spins a 1 ounce mass of antimatter in a perfect vacuum. The six corners of the device can be bolted to larger constructs. The antimatter magnet draws all electrical current nearby and from any attached conductors. The spinning antimatter creates an ultra high frequency, low amplitude turbulence that fractures the ions and converts the excess electrons into unstable gamma radiation. The amount of electricity absorbed is equal to the amount of gamma radiation released from the device. Depleted uranium is used to house the device to help absorb the radiation.
Airship Grounding
Any large airship has the problem of static electricity buildup which can't be discharged until the ship lands. Over time, the static electricity will lessen the amount of electricity that is fed to devices, computers, life-support etc. Attaching a mobile ground to an uninhabited part of the ship instantly resolves the problem.
Example: It takes 120V to power your computer. If there is a 10V electrostatic buildup on the ship's ground, you would only be able to create a current of 110V. If there is a 30V electrostatic buildup, you'd only get 90V which would cause any 120V system to fail. Electrostatic buildup is the devil.
Electric Defense Negation
By connecting a device to an electric defense such as an electric fence, the current would be redirected to the device leaving the fence completely neutralized. Connecting the device to an energy source, in effect, creates creates a complete circuit that will pull all available energy which will result in tripping any circuit breakers or fuses. If no circuit breakers are in place, the conducting medium (the wires) will super heat and likely melt.
Power Draining
This technique requires that actual device to be in close proximity to a power cable or wire rather then a use a cable that is connected to the device. By placing the device adjacent to but not connected to a power cable, the anti-electrostatic field it generates would literally drain the power from the cable. But obviously, you wouldn't want to be the poor sap to be holding the device in this scenario because of the dangerous radiation it would create.
Lightning Deterrent
Place several devices on the tops of high towers or suspended in the air by large balloons secured with long cables. These devices suspended in the air serve to suck the electrostatic charge out of the sky. The result is that when a rain storm begins brewing, all of the static electricity generation creates a 'plasma ball' effect with each of the devices. By draining the electricity from the sky, there is never any danger of damage from a lightning strike below. No one needs to use lightning rods. Another upside to this is that there is a spectacular view during the storm. A downside is that there is a greater amount of gamma radiation; while this typically isn't a dangerous amount in small doses, over time it can contaminate crops and drinking water and devastate the ecosystem. Using a mobile ground as a lighting deterrent is forbidden near residential or agricultural sites.
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? Responses (7)
Interesting item, reminded me to read that Dan Brown novel again.. Yeah, that one with that name, y'know?
3/5 - I shall have to attempt one of these at some point, an investing challenge for sure!
Just a couple of thoughts. Mostly they revolve around how awesome antimatter is.
Conservation of energy. Okay, so electrons + positrons = gamma rays. I get it. But electrons won't reach the antimatter core unless they can overcome the insulation that the vaccuum provides (arc). And once they arc, resistance is going to plummet and they're going to strip electrons from everything in the environment simply because the voltage a ball of positrons generates is going to be insane. 1 oz of antimatter + 1 oz of matter = ~5 petajoules. That's ~80 Hiroshimas going off inside this thing.
And gamma rays impart energy; that energy has to go somewhere. Heat or ionization are the two big options here. Funny enough, you can even induce fission in depleted uranium if you hit it with enough gamma radiation. If you can get good compression on the uranium shielding, that would go nuclear as well.
It's a superbomb that blows up when it hits a strong electric field. Maybe another ship's shields? An enemy's energy relay? Pretty cool to think about, actually.
I'm relying heavily on ill-defined ultra-high frequency turbulence to repel electrons that are magnetically inbound before they have a chance to overcome the vaccuum and create an arc. So much fun stuff came to mind, but I cut it short for 100 words. In actuality, the ultra-high frequency turbulence would cause an anti-gravity effect in all directions which would push the device away from any surface including the ground. Only by bolting something to the device (from within the safety of an anti-static chamber) could you actually keep the device from floating away from you whenever you got too close.
The down-side of the device is obviously that it spits out gamma radiation. Each device would have a specific capacity. Or only be able to diffuse a specific charge without risking excess electrons/ions making it to the vaccuum and creating an arc/mega-explosion. Let's say that a single device can safely diffuse up to a gigajoule (about twice the energy of an average bolt of lightning) of energy per second safely (without damage to the device). Any charge greater than 1 gigajoule will risk electrons arcing to the core causing small explosions of photons which (often) result in the device beginning to melt down and becoming increasingly unstable. Any charge greater than 2 gagajoules (about the energy of a huge bolt of lightning) or prolonged absorption of > 1 gigajoule will result in a meltdown of the supermagnet and/or the vaccuum shielding. Either result will end in a catastrophic explosion.
Greater amounts of energy can be diffused through connecting two or more mobile grounds together.
Also, the bomb aspect. Yes, 1 oz of antimatter would create a massive boom! I'm not too physics-minded, so to put it in perspective, 1 oz of antimatter is enough to fuel a rocket on a one-way trip from the ground to the moon.
Seems to be an interesting idea grounded solidly in logic, even though I personally adhor and suck at physics as a student (and I'm not talking abt uni, this is high school). A good submission for the 100 word challenge.
An intriguing idea, although it seems like the drawbacks outweigh the benefits. I must admit, I didn't get the title until I saw the examples. Even so, this is pretty good for being under 100 words.
It's tough to cram in all the drawbacks and the compensatory security measures in just 100 words. Gamma radiation can be blocked with enough mass. So you use depleted uranium around the device and then shield it with lead walls. The danger should be minimal. Then you just connect a few heavy gauge cables to the device and let the cables do the work of conducting electricity to the device. It's like a nuclear power plant; it's safe as long as you have the proper security measures in place.
Neat, but getting an oz of antimatter is an immense feat. Plus its insanely risky to have around.
Cool though.