What Should Light Sails Be Made Out Of?
What Should Light Sails Be Made Out Of?
The Breakthrough Starshot program aims to cross the immense distances to the nearest star in just decades. Using a high-powered laser to propel a reflective sail technology to relativistic speeds is their mission. The selection of sail material is key to its success as it must be lightweight while b...
Light? I mean they're light sails, right? 😆
(I'll see myself out)
Is lobster sauce made out of lobsters, or is it made of something else and you put it on lobsters?
Oh man you’ve beat me to it
The best material would be something thin and shiny like mylar, no?
Light.
What do Space Pirates use? Let's use that.
I would guess that the solution is in the name. Why else would they be light sails if they weren't made of light? Who's running this program?
Gigantic lenses to burn away bad people.
Interesting problem. Kinetic energy is Ek = kv2, where k = 1/2 for Newtonian physics. To double your speed, you need to apply four times the energy. Momentum is p = mv, so doubling your speed doubles your momentum. When you're in a vehicle collision, it's your momentum that hurts you as you collide with the car frame around you. Small particles don't have much mass, but at relativistic speeds they have a lot of momentum.
urine and feces. yes, urine and feces!