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Scientist Building Own Planet to Research Magnetic Field

By Alex in Science & Tech on Jun 3, 2008 at 12:55 am


We all know that the compass needle points north because of the Earth’s magnetic field, but how exactly does the that field come about?

Geophysicist Dan Lathrop at the University of Maryland wants to find out … by building his own planet!

His latest effort at the University of Maryland towers over him, a massive stainless steel sphere that looks like a prop from some old science fiction movie. Later this year he plans to fill it with molten metal and set the whole 26-ton ball spinning. At top speed the equator will whirl by at 80 miles an hour.

"It was a little scary the first time we spun it up," he says.

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COMMENT
  1. Ajan
    Jun 3rd, 2008 at 1:47 am

    Sounds fantastic... molten metal in a steel ball...
    Good luck to him

  2. Lasse
    Jun 3rd, 2008 at 2:12 am

    I hope this isn't causing a fracture in the space-time continuum.

  3. MoonCake
    Jun 3rd, 2008 at 4:59 am

    nah- he would need a flux capacitor for that.

    i would be eager to find out how this turns out.. if it's successful and he's able to gather the needed information, i'm sure he will make the news. then again, if it's a total catastrophe, i'm sure we'll hear about it too.

  4. Sheldon
    Jun 3rd, 2008 at 11:41 am

    Sounds like a great idea, but isn't a planet generally classified as a body moving in the sky around a star? Is he going to put it into orbit? And if so, where?

  5. Christophe
    Jun 3rd, 2008 at 12:46 pm

    yeah, sodium...
    remember?
    http://www.neatorama.com/2007/11/01/sodium-disposal/

  6. Ali S.
    Jun 3rd, 2008 at 12:54 pm

    @ Sheldon

    Oh man. Could you imagine the folks who think they see a UFO when that thing goes flying by?

  7. kid_icarus
    Jun 3rd, 2008 at 1:40 pm

    i wonder....will he be sucked into its gravitational field?

  8. DOJ
    Jun 3rd, 2008 at 7:47 pm

    will be interested in the results
    nice reference Lasse

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