It is an audacious and ambitious plan and I really hope they have success with it. Maybe my math and physics prowess is showing signs of too many years with a calculator and too few with a pencil and slide rule.

Making a small or even a large magnetosphere should not be a big problem. The earths magnetosphere is large, but weak. Using a tesla coil in my shop I have created magnetic fields a hundred times stronger than the earths. No big deal. But to make one bigger than the earth requires an iron core roughly 6 thousand miles long.

To acheive significant propulsion as I understand the concept you use good old E=MC Squared. Thus the energy of the thrust at best would be found by multiplying solar wind particle density per square foot times the mass of a single particle times the particle velocity squared. Then multiply the equivalent flat plane area of the generated magnetosphere which is exposed to the solar wind. This number is then used to calculate thrust acceleration of any given objects mass.

Since particle velocity squared varies a lot second by second you have to pick an average number and play around with it. My math on my trusty paper towel here if I wrap the numbers around the bacon grease stain, looks like 65 foot pounds of thrust against the planet earth at any given moment, give or take a thousand foot pounds.

Anybody care to double check my math.

This doesn't seem to be significant to me. At least in terms of thrust.

But it would make for a lot of interesting aurora borealis effects to study.

Sorry unless there is a magnetosphere around the comet, I am not sure I see the corelation. But it would be fun to suggest putting an artificial magnetosphere around the comet to see if we could protect it from the solar wind.

I hope they point a significant laser at that artificial magnetosphere to measure the thrust generated. It would either further the debate on solar sailing or kill it once and for all.

Hey, that's a good Idea. Lets aim a large laser at the coma, and then the tails of a comet and see if we can push the Ion tail or the dust tail around. If any of you can do this, I'll forever call you my science god and promise to never doubt you again.

Dan