Hello all, I am an aspiring hard science-fiction writer, and I am looking for a place where I can get some expert advice as to the scientific plausibility of several ideas. I hope that it's okay to ask these sorts of questions here.
First off, I have a story idea that's been bouncing around in my head now for a while; heavier-than-air airships. Namely, the sort that are large and very heavy, with thick metal plates for armor, crews of several hundred, and large spaces for very heavy cargo. I want to avoid the usual trope of anti-gravity, and so i was thinking about using electromagnetism. I'm setting this story on another planet, one that has a unique mineral that is heavily magnetic. So magnetic, in fact, that in concentration it reacts with the magnetic field of the planet and levitates off the ground. If the ship were built with several bands of this material running along its length, I imagine it could enable a several thousand ton airship to fly about. My questions are this:
1. Is this scientifically plausible?
2. If so, could it be plausible to vary the altitude of the ship by inducing varying amounts of electric charge into the material?
3. Could this effect be somehow manipulated to provide propulsion and maneuvering for such a vessel?
