?Wave-Particle DualitySolar wind (radiation) that is incident on the top of Earth’s

Chapter 6, Problem 123

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Wave-Particle Duality

Solar wind (radiation) that is incident on the top of Earth’s atmosphere has an average intensity of \(1.3 \mathrm{~kW} / \mathrm{m}^{2}\). Suppose that you are building a solar sail that is to propel a small toy spaceship with a mass of 0.1 kg in the space between the International Space Station and the moon. The sail is made from a very light material, which perfectly reflects the incident radiation. To assess whether such a project is feasible, answer the following questions, assuming that radiation photons are incident only in normal direction to the sail reflecting surface. (a) What is the radiation pressure (force per \(\mathrm{m}^{2}\)) of the radiation falling on the mirror-like sail? (b) Given the radiation pressure computed in (a), what will be the acceleration of the spaceship when the sail has of an area of \(10.0 \mathrm{~m}^{2}\)? (c) Given the acceleration estimate in (b), how fast will the spaceship be moving after 24 hours when it starts from rest?

Text Transcription:

1.3 kW/m^2

m^2

10.0 m^2