Is a force field possible? In theory, there are several possibilities, such as warping space time, electric fields, directional lasers, a controllable plasma, a magnetic field, and others.
We have all seen science fiction movies where a spaceship is protected by a forcefield that destroys enemy fire when it comes into contact. The recent movie Dune portrays personal force fields that are generated by a device the user wears and they cover the entire wearer. They deflect blows, but they can be penetrated by slow moving objects. So, is a force field possible or is it just science fiction? Obviously, there are many types of technology that will appear in the future that we cannot imagine. Things will be possible that would seem to us like magic. Let’s approach this topic by looking at the possible technologies that we know about at the moment.
A force field could work by bending space time. Ok, this is obviously not something we can do, but, in theory, it could work. This is the method that is used on the Star Trek Enterprise. The computer activates the shields whenever it senses a threat and they can be maintained for 20 hours before the ship runs out of power. They work by bending space time. The idea is that different portions of space are brought together by the shield so that anything fired at the ship comes out of the other part of space without hitting the ship. This is not even theoretically possible at the moment.
An electric field could make a force field. The NASA Institute for Advanced Concepts has already done this to protect devices against radiation. It is something they are considering using with astronauts on the moon as well. On Earth, we are protected from a lot of harmful radiation by our atmosphere, but the moon doesn’t have the same luxury. If we are ever to make a base on the moon, it will be showered with radiation all of the time. NASA have made a force field using positively or negatively charged spheres that send out an electric field that can be shaped. The field bends particles away from it, thus protecting people from radiation. This field wouldn’t stop missiles or weapons, but it is a start.
Another way to make a force field is by using directional lasers. A computer would be used to control a host of lasers built into the surface of whatever was being shielded. The computer would spot incoming threats and angle the optimal laser to destroy the threat. This is an idea that has been proposed for spaceships that leave Earth because of all the space junk that is floating around our planet. It could be scaled up to provide a lot more protection, but the number of lasers and their speed is the limiting factor. Any kind of system like this could probably be overwhelmed if enough projectiles were sent at the same time.
There is also a way of controlling a plasma to use as a force field. Plasma is the fourth state of matter, after solid, liquid, and gas. Each state of matter has more thermal energy than the state before it and plasma has the most energy. The matter is superheated to such a temperature that the electrons are pulled away from the atoms, making a superheated gas full of positively charged ions and negatively charged electrons. Plasma gases can conduct energy and be shaped by electrical fields, something which comes in useful if you want to make a plasma gas into a force field. The idea is to use lasers around whatever is being protected to rapidly heat the surrounding air molecules until they become a plasma. Then, a magnetic field would be used to control and shape the plasma, making the force field. The plasma would be so hot that anything hitting it would be vaporized. It would also be able to deflect radiation and even shockwaves. However, it would come with its fair share of problems. It would require an enormous amount of power to sustain and it would rapidly heat the air surrounding it as well. It would also block light, meaning you couldn’t see out of the shield. Still, something to start with.
Another idea is using a magnetic field. Our Earth has a magnetic field and it is a very effective force field. It blocks most of the radiation and particles that come from the solar wind. Unfortunately, it isn’t powerful enough to block solid objects, like asteroids, so it would need a lot of work to be an effective shield. In the future, force fields will either be made of a combination of these things, or something that we haven’t even considered. And this is what I learned today.
Image By Jin Zan – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=25246072
Sources
https://now.northropgrumman.com/force-fields-searching-for-the-ultimate-defense
https://dune.fandom.com/wiki/Shield
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Force_field_(technology)
https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn7595-force-fields-may-shield-astronauts-from-radiation/
https://www.space.com/21201-star-trek-technology-explained-infographic.html
https://www.psfc.mit.edu/vision/what_is_plasma
https://medium.com/predict/creating-force-fields-a207f49b8421