I am no rocket scientist, but wouldn't the earths magnetic fields tend to bias those diodes on as the satellite cuts through them, creating subtle drag?
Joe K4SAT
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_ __Amen, one has to have kickback diodes to the rails to absorb that energy. (Else, poof goes the pin)
Bob_
I am no rocket scientist, but wouldn't the earths magnetic fields tend
to bias those diodes on as the satellite cuts through them, creating subtle drag?
Yes and no. In theory some, but in practice, no. It takes a coil that is thousands of meters in length (usually called a "tether") to generate any appreciable torque. And since torque goes as the area, then our coil which is 10,000 times smaller would be 0.000000001 as effective or something like that. Maybe Bob
I think that, should you get enough induced voltage in the coil to forward bias a diode, all it would do is to slow the satellite's rotation around that axis, not drag against the satellite's orbit. Think about it in reverse - if it could change the orbital velocity, then we'd all be running current into coils to push satellites into higher orbits. And we're not. So it can't.
Something like that...
Greg KO6TH
On October 29, 2014 7:18:33 AM PDT, Robert Bruninga bruninga@usna.edu wrote:
I am no rocket scientist, but wouldn't the earths magnetic fields
tend to bias those diodes on as the satellite cuts through them, creating subtle drag?
Yes and no. In theory some, but in practice, no. It takes a coil that is thousands of meters in length (usually called a "tether") to generate any appreciable torque. And since torque goes as the area, then our coil which is 10,000 times smaller would be 0.000000001 as effective or something like that. Maybe Bob _______________________________________________ Sent via AMSAT-BB@amsat.org. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership. Opinions expressed are solely those of the author, and do not reflect the official views of AMSAT-NA. Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! Subscription settings: http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb
participants (3)
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Greg Dolkas -
Joe Leikhim -
Robert Bruninga