I wonder how difficult it is to create an artificial planetary magnetic field with generators? What power they would need?
The question is inspired by thinking about possible colonization of Jupiter's moons Io and Europa which are located inside the Jovian radiation belt. Is it possible to create with easy means an artificial magnetic field such that it to shield the surfaces of these moons from radiation? Or it would require astronomical amount of power?
By easy means I mean a device that would not require power greater that normal industrial power plant, best of all, solar-powered or based on once-charged superconductor coils.
Best Answer
According to this article the energy stored in the Earth's magnetic field is about $10^{26}$ ergs or $10^{19}$J. According to Wikipedia the annual global generation of electricity is about 20,000TWh, which is between $10^{19}$ and $10^{20}$J, so actually we already produce enough power to generate the Earth's magnetic field.
Actually doing it on a moon of Jupiter would be another problem. I suppose you could use nuclear power to avoid having to build an oil pipeline between the Earth and Europa, but even if the power were available I don't know if current technology is up to generating magnetic fields with that much energy.