Electromagnetic Water Cloak Eliminates Drag and Wake

I&#x27;m fascinated by how this ended up with the same name as the fictional stealthy propulsion technology from the Hunt For Red October. They&#x27;re both called &quot;magneto hydrodynamic&quot; propulsion.<p>The book was published in 1984. Was this widely theorized? Did Clancy speak to someone with non public information? Were the researchers at Duke fans of the book &#x2F; movie? Did they just copy the name of his technology or did the fictional description of how it worked actually inspire their research?

Not to geek out, but this is basically warp drive from star trek.<p>By interacting with the medium the object is passing through, this could effectively change its shape or foil. I wonder if this implications for having orbiting bodies around gas giants (offsetting atmospheric drag) or a shield for a sun probe ?<p>Could also allow for modifications to the leading edge of a hypersonic plane or a re-entering spacecraft. Relevant research in MHD control of the plasma layer during hypersonic flight [0]<p>[0] <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;sci-hub.la&#x2F;10.1016&#x2F;j.ast.2014.03.008" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;sci-hub.la&#x2F;10.1016&#x2F;j.ast.2014.03.008</a>

So I skimmed the paper (<a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;sci-hub.la&#x2F;10.1103&#x2F;PhysRevE.96.063107" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;sci-hub.la&#x2F;10.1103&#x2F;PhysRevE.96.063107</a>) and it involves passing current through a conductive fluid whilst exposing it to magnetic fields. However, unlike mercury or NaK, seawater behaves interestingly when current is passed through it. How do you prevent the water from being chemically changed from the exposure to electricity; given that such changes will make the vessel easier to detect (especially if they involve the evolution of gasses)?