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I had a notion this morning, that it might be possible to treat Saturns ring as a machine. Much is unknown about the rings, but I do know that it has mass, gravitational, and electrical properties and is composed of a multitude of pieces which seem to work together with Saturn to maintain a form.
That form must interact with the space environment, the solar wind, and the solar flux.
Actually I would not want to damage those rings, so I am now thinking that nearer objects could be an interesting target. Mars and Jupiter for instance.
I really don't know if manufacured rings could be created. For Mars, it could not be of ice, but for Jupiter perhaps it could.
Dumb rings would be mostly composed of rock or ice objects.
Smart rings could be as in the often mentioned hall machine, a multitude of tiny machines.
I do not know if a ring can deflect and concentrate solar wind, but solar wind can be tapped for energy, so that is an interesting possibility.
Also rings seem to have electrical properties, so perhaps that could be tapped.
Then there is the possibility to shade or brighten parts of the environment of Mars at times.
For Jupiter, it might be possible that rings could reduce the number of dangerous particles in its radiation belts. (Or make it worse).
But anyway trying to think of how to manufacture a planet ring might also lead to insights on how they work.
Done.
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I recall that you can mop up the Jovian radiation belts by scattering dust along them, so yes, some sort of artificial ring system would be useful there.
"I'm gonna die surrounded by the biggest idiots in the galaxy." - If this forum was a Mars Colony
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http://spacescience.msfc.nasa.gov/collo … obert.html
now put smat dusticles to hang around within the plasma.
dusty plasmoid -- ring-like or spherical or funel-like ... could be "alive"
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