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0 pointsAnimalMuppet2y ago0 comments

A reflected photon imparts twice its momentum.

0 pointsAnimalMuppet2y ago0 comments

A reflected photon imparts twice its momentum.

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6 comments · 1 top-level

monocasa2y ago· 5 in thread

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.

… which just heats up the sail.

To move, you want to absorb momentum, not energy.

Correct as per Newtonian physics, bit shit gets weird when you go quantum :)

At the scale of individual particles, heat is movement.

The light reflected from a mirror is already red-shifted due to the velocity of the mirror.

Which is why I said red shift more.

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