Talk:HiVOLT

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It would be ... unpleasent ... to discover later that reservoirs of charged particles above atmosphere, although dangerous for objects passing them, were performing a vital shielding function for our biosphere. What is restoration period for van Allen belts once they are discharged?

The article about the belts lists an average particle lifetime of about 10 years, for the lower belt. Higher belt is unclear. This suggests a similar repopulation time. It isn't likely that the belts shield against anything - they're tenuous enough that virtually all high-energy radiation would go right through. Low-energy charged particle radiation would be deflected, but not by the belt - it's the Earth's magnetic field that performs the deflection, with the belt being formed as a side effect from secondary particles emitted when high-energy cosmic rays make it through the field and strike the atmosphere. The best shielding of all, though, is the atmosphere itself, equivalent to 30 feet of water or more than 3 feet of lead. --Christopher Thomas 23:20, 25 May 2005 (UTC)
Sounds like the most reckless, dangerous idea ever 77.54.155.226 (talk) 22:08, 20 November 2007 (UTC)