[net.space] Monopoles in space

miles (07/19/82)

	Actually, it is possible to construct reasonable monopolar magnets
	right here in a gravitational field. Granted, their preformance is 
	not to great, but may be better in 0-g. Interesting thing is, 
	although monopolar magnets are not exactly the same as a monopole
	say in an asteroid (if they exist ), they do work, when really they
	shouldn't.

		From Raymond S.

John@sri-unix (07/25/82)

Think I missed something.  Is it really "possible to create monopolar
magnets in a gravitational field"?  What does gravity have to do with
it?  How can you possibly make a monopolar magnet without magnetic
monpoles?  
   On a slightly related subject, there was a Larry Niven story about
prospectors in the asteroid belt searching for monopoles (I think
it was the opening to "Protector").  Niven claimed that instruments
using monopoles had a sensitivity that dropped off as the radius R
rather than as R squared.  That sure doesn't sound right to me. Does
anyone know if there is anything to it?  I would think that the field
from a monpole would drop off with R^2 in just the same way as the 
electric field from a charge.
   --------

Physics:els (07/26/82)

   All I've seen so far are articles entitled "Re: Monopoles in Space".
I don't think we received the original article here (or else I muffed
something when I read the news that day!).  Could someone please mail
it to me.  Thanx.

                             els [Eric Strobel]
                             pur-ee!pur-phy!els