It has been proposed that a spaceship might be propelled in the Solar System by radiation pressure, using a large sail made of foil. The reflectivity of foil causes the radiation force to be twice what it is normally. Calculate the area (in square kilometers) that the sail must be for the radiation force to be equal to the Sun’s gravitational attraction. Assume that the mass of the ship and sail is 1500 kg and Q=1
It has been proposed that a spaceship might be propelled in the Solar System by radiation...
It has been proposed that a spaceship might be propelled in the solar system by radiation pressure, using a large sail made of foil. How large must the surface area of the sail be if the radiation force is to be equal in magnitude to the Sun's gravitational attraction? Assume that the mass of the ship + sail is 1800 kg, that the sail is perfectly reflecting, and that the sail is oriented perpendicular to the Sun's rays. (With a...
Chapter 33, Problem 024 It has been proposed that a spaceship might be propelled in the solar system by radiation pressure, using a large sail made of foil. How large must the surface area of the sail be if the radiation force is to be equal in magnitude to the Sun's gravitational attraction? Assume that the mass of the ship + sail is 1500 kg, that the sail is perfectly reflecting, and that the sail is oriented perpendicular to the...
3. ("Solar sail") A spaceship of mass m is being designed which can use the so-called 'solar wind' for propulsion. Once in orbit, a large sail will unfold, and form a square of area A, as shown in the following picture Spaceship Copyright: NASA The idea is that a stream of photons from the sun, each with momentum p-h/λ (where X is its wavelength), will collide with the sail, giving it a tiny kick with each collision. For the sake...
In Example 34.6, we imagined equipping 1950DA, an asteroid on a collision course with the Earth, with a solar sail in hopes of ejecting it from the solar system. We found that the enormous size required for the solar sail makes the plan impossible at this time. Of course, there is no need to eject such an object from the solar system; we only need to change the orbit. A much more pressing problem is Apophis, a 300-m asteroid that may be...
Constants In this example we will investigate the viability of using radiation pressure to propel a spacecraft. Suppose a spacecraft with a mass of 2.50 x 10 kg has a solar sail made of perfectly reflective aluminized film with an area of 2.59 x 106 m2 (about 1 square mile). If the spacecraft is launched into earth orbit and then deploys its sail at right angles to the sunlight, what is the acceleration due to sunlight? (At the earth's distance...