3 ms·
Perhaps, some fraction of the laser energy beamed to move the sail is redirected directly in front of the spacecraft to vaporize any dust particles in its path.
by naasking 1y ago
Perhaps, some fraction of the laser energy beamed to move the sail is redirected directly in front of the spacecraft to vaporize any dust particles in its path. Fragments of a circular sail could be angled in the right way so as to take some fraction of the light's momentum in its desired direction with the rest reflected at an angle to clear the opposite side of the sail. For a circular sail you'd then get a circular "clearance beam" of sorts.
- sfink 1y agoYou're avoiding the energy that would be imparted by hitting the dust spec by... adding energy to the dust spec? Perhaps splitting it so it damages a larger area? It seems better to let it plow as small a hole as possible in the sail.
- naasking 1y ago1. Dust specs would respond to momentum imparted by the light much more quickly, which would reduce the momentum difference between the ship and the specs. 2. Enough incident light could vaporize the specs entirely leaving only gas or plasma, which doesn't carry the same danger to the ship.