Comment by dominicl

What's the maximum traction that an electromagnet can cause? Is a thermonuclear powered super- in orbit thinkable? At least most human produced space garbage is magnetic I assume? So if we send multiple of those super magnets into orbit they would clean by slowly attracting small objects. So we reduce the problem from many tiny objects to a few larger easier to track electric dustballs. Anyone has some insight on why that does not work?