Chinese researchers are trying to turn science fiction into reality

Could a new type of weapon be on the horizon? A 2023 study by scientists in China introduced the world to the concept of plasma ring technology. It was a type of tech that promised to turn science fiction into reality.

In August 2023, Chinese scientists published a research paper revealing the details of a device that could move objects using plasma rings. Here's what we learned about the device and what it would one day be used for in the real world.

The device’s effect was likened to the Jedi’s “force push” ability by the South China Morning Post’s Stephen Chen. Chen wrote about the weird new gadget, which he noted could prove to be revolutionary for several industries if the researchers could make the technology work. 

Photo Credit: Unsplash by R.D. Smith

Chen explained that the device used magnetic force to manipulate objects according to his review of the research paper published by the Chinese team in the journal Systems Engineering and Electronics on August 16th. 

“Until recently,” Chen reported, “using magnetic force to control something remotely was considered impractical. The strength of the force decreases rapidly as the distance between the magnetic source and the object it is acting upon increases.”

However, the Chinese team was able to overcome that obstacle and was working on a prototype that had a range of 0.6 miles that would be strong enough to change the path of large objects in space on a collision course with spacecraft or satellites.

Photo Credit: Unsplash by SpaceX

The Debrief’s Christopher Plain noted that in practical terms, the 'force gun' device could be equipped to spacecraft and allow them to safely exert “opposing force” on objects in space without ever needing to come into direct contact with them. 

“The design and experimental verification of a prototype is underway,” the team, which is led by researcher Zhang Yuanwen, wrote in their paper on the device. But what specifics do we actually know about this device?

Photo Credit: Unsplash by Lars Kienle

Interesting Engineering’s Christopher McFadden described the device as a coaxial cannon that could produce magnetized plasma rings, and it was these magnetized plasma rings that could push and pull objects in the same way that one of Geoge Lucas’ Jedi. 

Photo Credit: Wiki Commons

Charged particles in the device’s plasma rings take the form of a torus and they move freely in response to other electric and magnetic forces, this can get a little complicated but the plasma rings produce a magnetic field that counteracts other magnetic fields.

Photo Credit: Wiki Commons By Watchduck, Own Work, CC BY 4.0

The process of counteracting magnetic fields continues until the lines of the magnetic fields become “frozen” according to McFadden, that’s how the magnetic force of the plasma rings can be projected against an object to push it away.

Photo Credit: Wiki Commons By Geek3 - Own Work, CC BY-SA 3.0

Stephen Chen noted that the researchers claimed their prototype device could shoot as many as 8 plasma rings at a single target every second at speeds upwards of 6.2 miles per second, which is 30 times the speed of sound. 

“Once the rings near the target, they begin to influence its motion with the magnetic force,” Chen wrote, and this could have all kinds of important applications for those operating in space over the use of more traditional technologies. 

Photo Credit: Unsplash by NASA

For example, Chen noted the researchers explained that because there is no physical contact required by their device to move an object, there is a reduced risk of collisions and other incidents. 

Moreover, the device could interact with a wide variety of space junk since it would not require points to attach to grab onto debris or other objects, which would make the technology far more versatile than something like a robotic arm for moving and manipulating objects in space. 

More importantly, Christopher Plain noted that the organization behind the development of China’s force gun was a military one, which means that if it's proven to be possible, the device could be used for a variety of nefarious purposes. 

“This includes using the force gun to remove or de-orbit space debris, de-spin out of control satellites, or even bring two satellites together for combined operations,” Plain wrote, adding it could also be used to “capture enemy spacecraft, bring them out of orbit or even smash them into each other.”