Sun is bombarding us with ionized particles and these particles are moving towards outer planets. During solar flares this effect is intensified greatly. If we are able to create very strong magnetic field around a spacecraft than each ionized particle coming from Sun will experience a Lorentz force which will change it’s direction. According to Newtons third law of motion, there has to be a reaction force to Lorentz force which would act to spacecraft. Right? I am wondering, could we use this effect to propel spacecraft towards Mars and outer planets? Braking could be done by other means, even with traditionally rockets, but we would reduce initial mass greatly by removing propellants for acceleration (90% of initial mass). Also strong magnetic field would provide excellent protection from ionizing radiation for personnel onboard spacecraft. Than we would have to focus on neutron protection, but this we already know how to achieve (using Lithium 6, or Boron 10 compounds as shielding).
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1$\begingroup$ possibly more than related: Could a spacecraft be propelled by the deflection of a very high number of charged particles? and also Can you use magnets to travel through space? but not to be confused with How can an electric sail be used for deorbiting considering that it doesn't work inside the magnetosphere? $\endgroup$– uhohMar 12, 2020 at 23:25
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That was a good description of a magnetic sail, which is a concept that is out there but hasn't been tested yet. It can change the direction of thrust by changing the orientation of the magnetic field. It has a theoretical advantage over solar sails in that the weight increases with the circumference of the sail rather than with the area, but I guess I couldn't say what that weight would be. Superconductors would have to be kept cool.
