Electrodynamic tethers (EDTs) are long conducting wires, such as one deployed from a tether satellite, which can operate on electromagnetic principles as generators, by converting their kinetic energy to electrical energy, or as motors, converting electrical energy to kinetic energy.[1] Electric potential is generated across a conductive tether by its motion through a planet's magnetic field.
A number of missions have demonstrated electrodynamic tethers in space, most notably the TSS-1, TSS-1R, and Plasma Motor Generator (PMG) experiments.
- ^ NASA, Tethers In Space Handbook, edited by M.L. Cosmo and E.C. Lorenzini, Third Edition December 1997 (accessed 20 October 2010); see also version at NASA MSFC Archived 2011-10-27 at the Wayback Machine; available on scribd