Notes on Magnetic Monopole Applications

Hans P. Moravec
July 1979


	Monopole technology - Magnetic monopoles are predicted by some
quantum field theories of atomic forces.  Although they have not been
found yet, there is good reason for that since they would be very heavy
and therefore hard to make.  If they could be made in quantity, there
would be a complete revolution in our technology.  Efficient electric
motors, high density energy storage, high temperature superconductors,
ultra-strong fibers and armor plate, and high density matter, are just a
few of the many possibilities.

	I derived the the supposed properties of monopolium from a very
small number of facts, which were published in the semi popular press
around the time the Berkeley group claimed to have found a monopole track
in their cosmic ray balloon:

	Dirac's calculation that the magnetic quantum of charge is a
positive integer multiple of 137/2 times as mutually attractive as the
electric quantum.

	The predictions of some gauge theories that monopoles exist and
the smallest weigh about 1000 protons (which puts them beyond the reach of
existing accelerators, but within Batavia running colliding beam, expected
in the middle to late 80's).

	Analogy with conventional matter. There may be at least two non
mutually anihilating stable kinds of monopoles that could be used to build
monopole atoms. Because the monopole electron weighs at least 1000 protons
= 2,000,000 regular electrons, the diameter of a monopole atom should be
about 2 million times smaller than that of a conventional atom. Since the
monopole proton is also AT LEAST 1000 times as heavy as a regular proton,
a monopole atom weighs 1000 times as much.  The combination of size and
mass makes monopolium 1000x(2,000,000)^3 = 10^22 times as dense as normal
matter.

	The mutual interaction between a pair of atoms is inverse square
in their separation. Monopole atoms are 2 million times as close as
conventional atoms. The number of monopole atoms in a given cross
sectional area is (2,000,000)^2 times as high. Combined with increased
attraction due to the magnetic quantum being (68.5)^2 as strong as
electric, the tensile strength of monopolium is (2,000,000)^4x(68.5)^2 =
10^29 as high as normal.

	The strength to weight ratio is thus about 10 million times as
high.

	This reflects the fact that monopole chemistry is a energetic per
unit mass as nuclear fusion and fission of conventional matter.

	The first quantum jump in a monopole electron orbital involves a
hard gamma ray. Thus at mild temperatures (anything less than a million
degrees, say), monopolium should be a potential superfluid,
superconductor, etc.

	It should be possible to overlay structures of conventional matter
with a thin (very very thin) veneer of monopolium to protect them against
virtually everything except a projectile of monopolium moving at very
nearly the speed of light.  (general products hulls!).

	Superconducting monopole mirrors probably reflect everything up to
the the energy of proton-antiproton anihilation gamma rays.

	The extreme density permits very small and very fast (about 10
million times as fast as conventional) monople integrated circuits and
computers.  The RF frequencies involved would be in the gamma ray range.

	Mixing electrically and magnetically conducting matter causes DC
transformers (two loops of wire threaded through a tiny monopole anulus).
An inductive storage battery, with nuclear energy density (a
superconducting monopole conductor plated on an ordinary wire).

	The interactions in a single material containing both free
electric and magnetic charges (two dimensional currents, etc). sound like
they'd be full of possibilities, but I havn't cleared my thoughts on that.

	Another possibility is a new kind of matter where there is no
nucleus, but where the orbits of monopoles and charged particles interlock
like links of a chain.

	More mundane: very high frequency from tiny monopole synchotrons,
pumped not by RF but by a DC current orthogonal to the plane of orbit;
piling up monopole matter to form a black hole (600 cm radius, 10^30 g
mass (about the mass of Jupiter) if the monopolium doesn't compress,
possibly a lot smaller if it does).

	radius of your machine at the needed energies seems excessive. On
the other hand, monopoles can be accelerated very effectively in a way for
which there is no present analogy. If you put one at the end of a hollow
DC solenoid it will zip up the axis following the field lines. I read that
a conservatively designed 6 foot solenoid would accelerate a monopole to
the energy of the 76gev SLAC electrons.  Now think about a 600 foot
solenoid. If it were superconducting the energy efficiency would be near
100%, not counting the heat pumps.  Each monopole that zipped down the
tube would subtract a little of the solenoid magnetic flux and reduce the
super current, reducing the energy in the solenoid by the exactly the
energy it had gained. And the machine is so incredibly simple. None of
this fancy (and expensive and power hungry ) RF and precision ramping
stuff (the last in case your were considering a synchotron).

	You would of course need much less energy if the accelerator was
producing coliding beams. You need at least two monopoles to start with
then, and some way of turning them around.  A toroidal solenoid with the
proper field gradient on its inside might keep a monopole circulating. The
field would be stronger towards the hole of the donut, and weaker towards
the outside.  There would also be an electric field parallel to the axis
of the torus. When the monopole strayed too far towards the outer wall the
reduced magnetic field would accelerate it less, but the electric field
would still keep it curving inward.  It would lose energy by cherenkov
radiation, and fall towards the middle of the track. Similary a monopole
that got too close to the inner radius would pick up energy from the
stronger field there and move outward. Now, if you put a mono-anti-pole
into this torus it will whirl around in the other direction and probably
collide with the original particle. You can use a linear solenoid
accelerator to get the particles up to the requisite energy in the first
place. Notice there are no alternating magnetic or electric fields in any
of this.

	I'm also worried by the cloud of like-charged monopoles in the
fusion reactors. The binding of charges and monopoles is sort of a second
order (though not necessarily weaker) effect.  It will be dominated by the
mutual repulsion of the monopoles (something i also found objectionable in
the few places where Niven used monopoles). I don't see how you can keep a
cloud of un-neutralized monopoles from heading off in all directions.

	It would be easiest if there were two kinds of stable monopoles,
so that you could put North kinds of one and South kinds of the other
together without ill effect. But if you make the conservative assumtion
that there is only one kind, you can still win.

	Having both electric and magnetic matter makes the handling of
anti-matter almost easy. To deal with ordinary and anti electric matter,
put each in its own bottle made of magnetci matter. Conversely, to
maipulate the opposite varieties of magnetic matter put each in a bottle
made of electric matter. Doesn't have to be a literal bottle, of course.
A lodestone can hold both monopoles and antimonopoles, each kind at the
corresponding dipole end, without any problems, until you vaporize it.

	Your fusion generators could have a core of antimonopoles
surrounded by a sheath of matter (iron?), Around this is a cloud of an
equivalent number of monopoles, as in your scheme. This cloud could be in
the form of a solenoid storage ring as above. The hydrogen and helium
could be introduced and removed without bothering the monopoles since, not
being magnetically charged, they wouldn't be tempted to circulate with the
monopoles.

	The charge imbalance in your asteroids worries me too. I don't see
why the core wouldn't just blow apart after you got to a certain
threshold. With both electron and proton monopole types you'd have no
problems, youd simply load it with an equal quantity of each. But if you
have only one kind, I don't really see how you can manage. At the
densities you need poles and antipoles would meet sooner or later if you
injected both.

	All for now. more later. i might do a few (quick!) calculations
about monopole accelerators.

	P.S.  I don't see how monopole fusion is any cleaner than other
approaches.  Also note that what I call monopolium is not quite your
variety.

	The currently most credible gauge theories predict the existence
of stable magnetic monopoles massing about 1000 protons. Current particle
accelerators don't provide enough center of mass energy to create such
massive entities, but the colliding beam extensions being planned for the
big proton accelerators in the mid 80's should be just barely adequate.

	The diameter of such monopoles would be at least 1000 times
smaller than protons. A given volume could contain 10^9 times as many
monopoles as protons, and the switching speed would be 1000 times as high,
giving a per unit volume gain of 10^12 over protons.  A problem that takes
an ultimate proton computer 20 billion years to solve, could be handled by
an ultimate monopole version in a week. So be careful with your
impossibility proofs.

	Not that I think its really practical. For one thing, a sphere of
dense but uncompressed monopoles more than a meter in diameter would
collapse into a black hole. A proton computer has a similar problem at a
diameter of a million meters. The total mass-energy in the universe is
another limit.