4 ms·
Actually nope. It takes more energy to slow yourself down enough to crash into the sun, starting from the earth, than it does to hop on over to the moon.
by whoisburbansky 5y ago
Actually nope. It takes more energy to slow yourself down enough to crash into the sun, starting from the earth, than it does to hop on over to the moon.
- tomjakubowski 5y agoDefinitely a stupid question, because I actually have no idea how they work: can a solar sail be "tacked" so as to decelerate towards the sun, like a sailboat sailing into the wind? (Setting aside the risky problem of getting this waste off earth and into space to begin with)
- hutzlibu 5y agoI have not done any calculations now, but given how small the solar wind is in drag, it would have to be a very, very big sail.
- blackboxlogic 5y agoTacking works because boats have a second "sail" interacting with a second fluid moving differently than the wind (the keel is in the water). There's no second thing to push against in space. If you "tack" your solar sail, you'll spin.