Metallic Hydrogen As Radiation Shielding

[Spacescifi]

 

 

 

 

Just curious if it would work. Since hydrogen absorbs radiation. Would it also do it it's metallic form? Assuming we managed to make a stable form of it and layered beneath the outer hull as a protective inner layer? This is a scifi idea I admit, but I just wanted to know if it could work?

 

If it does...

 

Pros: Lighter weight radiation protection, as opposed to having tons of water/concrete  between crew and the outer hull.

Cons:  If something really hot pierces the hull, the metallic hydrogen is liable to blow up.... and I think several here are aware of just how explosive metallic hydrogen is. It's like metallic dynamite... but worse.

 

 

Your thoughts?

[wumpus]

It absorbs radiation, just not well.  No reason to use it in place of liquid hydrogen, anyway.  Of course the only reason you would use metallic hydrogen is if it is metastable (or possibly just stable).  Unfortunately it isn't, so nobody really cares.

Typically the only thing that matters about shielding is the total mass (probably not true for all forms of radiation, but if you don't have enough mass you will get fried.  If you do you won't).  Hydrogen is lousy for this (unless you have rather full fuel tanks.  In that case have them between your radiation source and all crewed and critical parts of the spaceship).

[DDE]

11 hours ago, Spacescifi said:

Since hydrogen absorbs radiation

It does a better-than average job than other materials against charged particle radiation. But there's no real need to go for such elaborate solutions compared with polyethylene. And for the inner anti-gamma belt, you want something on the uranium end of the periodic table.

[kerbiloid]

Spoiler

"Metallic hydrogen as a ballast for warm air balloons."

Thoughts? Suggestions?

 

[Guest]

Bad idea, because metallic hydrogen isn't metastable, and even if it was, radiation is one of the things that can "set off" a metastable material. If anything, you'd need radiation shielding for the metallic hydrogen.

That said, don't use metallic hydrogen. It's already been proven not to work that way. It isn't metastable, as far as we know, so it isn't a good rocket propellant.