The planet is undergoing swift warming, and István Szapudi, an astronomer, has introduced a concept for a solar shield to cut down the sunlight reaching the Earth, employing a tethered asteroid for a counterbalance. This groundbreaking thought renders the shield’s weight more than 100 times lighter than earlier models, with the only section that needs to be dispatched from Earth tipping the scales at around 35,000 tons. Credit goes to Brooks Bays/UH Institute for Astronomy.
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An Asteroid-Tethered Solar Shield: A Novel Approach to Tackling Climate Change
With the Earth heating up rapidly, scientists are devising various strategies to curb the impact of climate change. The University of Hawaiʻi Institute for Astronomy’s István Szapudi has suggested a one-of-a-kind method—a solar shield to minimize sunlight’s impact on Earth, coupled with an asteroid as a tethered counterbalance. Immediate engineering research on this method could lead to a practical design that might alleviate climate change within a matter of decades.
The research, titled “Solar radiation management with a tethered sun shield,” has been freshly featured in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences journal.
The Idea of a Solar Shield
Shading the Earth from a part of the Sun’s rays is among the most uncomplicated ways to lower global temperatures. This concept, termed a solar shield, isn’t new, but the immense weight required to create a sufficiently large shield to offset gravitational forces and stop the solar radiation pressure from driving it away makes even the lightest materials excessively costly.
Szapudi’s imaginative answer comprises two novel features: using a tethered counterbalance instead of just a bulky shield, thereby reducing the overall mass by more than 100 times, and utilizing an asteroid as the counterweight to refrain from launching most of the weight from Earth.
Artist’s visualization of the intended solar shield connected to an asteroid as a counterbalance. Credit: Brooks Bays/UH Institute for Astronomy
In Hawaiʻi, Szapudi drew inspiration from the common practice of using an umbrella to shield oneself from sunlight during the day. He wondered, “Could we apply the same principle to the Earth and thus curb the looming disaster of climate change?”
The Incorporation of a Tethered Counterbalance
Szapudi initiated the project with the aim of cutting solar radiation by 1.7%, an approximation of what’s required to avert a disastrous temperature surge globally. He realized that using a tethered counterbalance aimed at the Sun could diminish the shield and counterbalance’s weight to roughly 3.5 million tons—about a hundred times lighter than earlier untethered shield estimations.
This figure, though far surpassing current launch capabilities, involves only 1% of the weight—roughly 35,000 tons—being the shield itself, the sole part requiring launching from Earth. With the utilization of new, lighter materials, the shield’s weight could be lessened even more. The remaining 99% would consist of asteroids or lunar dust as a counterweight. This tethered configuration would be quicker and more economical to construct and implement compared to other shield models.
Presently, the largest rockets can only lift about 50 tons to low Earth orbit, so this method for managing solar radiation would be demanding. However, Szapudi’s approach makes the concept feasible, even with existing technology, in contrast to previous models that were entirely out of reach. Moreover, the development of a lightweight but resilient graphene tether to link the shield and the counterweight is vital.
Reference: “Solar radiation management with a tethered sun shield” by István Szapudi, dated 31 July 2023, in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2307434120
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about fokus keyword: solar shield
What is the proposed solution to mitigate climate change in the text?
The proposed solution to mitigate climate change is a solar shield concept, which involves using a tethered asteroid as a counterweight to reduce the amount of sunlight hitting Earth.
How does the solar shield concept work?
The solar shield concept works by shading the Earth from a fraction of the Sun’s light. Instead of a massive shield, a tethered counterweight, such as an asteroid, is used to reduce the total mass significantly, making it more feasible and cost-effective.
Who proposed the solar shield concept?
The solar shield concept was proposed by astronomer István Szapudi, who works at the University of Hawaiʻi Institute for Astronomy.
What advantage does the tethered asteroid provide in the solar shield concept?
Using a tethered asteroid as a counterweight in the solar shield concept helps avoid launching most of the mass from Earth, making the total mass more than 100 times lighter than previous designs.
How could the solar shield concept help combat climate change?
By reducing the amount of sunlight reaching Earth, the solar shield concept aims to mitigate the effects of climate change, potentially leading to a more sustainable and cooler global environment.
Is the solar shield concept currently feasible with existing technology?
While the solar shield concept brings the idea into the realm of possibility, its implementation remains challenging due to current launch capabilities. However, it provides a potential pathway for further research and development.
More about fokus keyword: solar shield
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences: Solar radiation management with a tethered sun shield
- University of Hawaiʻi Institute for Astronomy: Astronomer István Szapudi
- UH Institute for Astronomy News: Blocking the Sun: A Solar “Umbrella” Tethered to Asteroid To Help Mitigate Climate Change
- Climate Change Information from NASA: Climate Change: How Do We Know?
