3 ms·
Momentum was the wrong word, but it feels like layers of diffraction could red shift the light more, absorbing more energy out of each photon.
by monocasa 3y ago
Momentum was the wrong word, but it feels like layers of diffraction could red shift the light more, absorbing more energy out of each photon.
- jiggawatts 3y ago… which just heats up the sail. To move, you want to absorb momentum, not energy.
- woleium 3y agoCorrect as per Newtonian physics, bit shit gets weird when you go quantum :)
- monocasa 3y agoAt the scale of individual particles, heat is movement.
- ianburrell 3y agoHeat is random movement. Infrared photons go in random directions, not the direction wanting to go. Some go in the wrong direction. Reflection means solar sail goes in direction you want to go.
- mitthrowaway2 3y agoThe light reflected from a mirror is already red-shifted due to the velocity of the mirror.
- monocasa 3y agoWhich is why I said red shift more.