Physics Students Devise Concept for Star Wars-Style Deflector Shields

Yet again, science fiction has inspired scientists to discover science fact.

You read that right:  yet another sci-fi standby becomes reality.  (And if you never thought about it, surely you realize your iPhone is a tricorder, and your iPad is one of the "pads" from Star Trek: The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine.)

This is a huge step in a necessary direction.  Anyone who has ever watched a science fiction movie can grasp the military potential, and perhaps the opportunities such shields could create for peace.  Imagine a city domed with shields, ala Stargate Atlantis: there would be no point in attacking it, and life could go on inside without any concern for the horrors of war.  Indeed, it is the same case as that for Reagan's SDI (today's missile defense), just vastly more comprehensive.

But there are other, also peaceful applications.  A spaceship traveling at high speed is going to need some way to deflect even the smallest bits of rock and junk it might encounter in its path:  otherwise, the ship will surely be destroyed.  This is another Star Trek conc…