5 ms·
But to tack you need a centerboard or keel in the water to push against. I can't think of a way to do this in space.
by JohnJamesRambo 5y ago
But to tack you need a centerboard or keel in the water to push against. I can't think of a way to do this in space.
- Teever 5y agoThat's a really good point. Here's what I was able to find about the matter from a brief search. https://space.stackexchange.com/questions/370/can-you-tack-against-the-sun-using-a-solar-sail https://space.stackexchange.com/questions/370/can-you-tack-a...
- ravel-bar-foo 5y agoOn Earth you need a keel to oppose the force on the sail, which has a component in the direction of the wind. In orbit, the equivalent radial force is mostly perpendicular to the direction of motion, and so does very little work. Radial forces in orbit are much less efficient at changing orbital parameters than the equivalent axial (prograde/retrograde) acceleration. Moreover, if your orbit is roughly circular the applied force mostly averages out over each orbit.
- berkes 5y agoTacking not only uses a keel, it also uses the shape of a sail and Bernoulli's principle [0] to get the perpendicular and forward force. I'm not versed in solar-particle-physics, but I doubt the Bernoulli's principle applies to solar particles. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernoulli%27s_principle https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernoulli%27s_principle