Fraser Cain on Nostr: How can we send spacecraft to other star systems? One proposed by Breakthrough ...
How can we send spacecraft to other star systems? One proposed by Breakthrough Foundation is the Starshot, which uses high-powered lasers to accelerate tiny spacecraft to 10% the speed of light. What keeps the sail balanced as the laser strikes it and accelerates it? A new paper suggests that the laser can be tuned so that the forces are balanced on the sail, automatically correcting if any dangerous oscillations build-up that could destroy the sail.
https://arxiv.org/abs/2401.16924 
Published at
2024-02-02 00:26:03Event JSON
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"content": "How can we send spacecraft to other star systems? One proposed by Breakthrough Foundation is the Starshot, which uses high-powered lasers to accelerate tiny spacecraft to 10% the speed of light. What keeps the sail balanced as the laser strikes it and accelerates it? A new paper suggests that the laser can be tuned so that the forces are balanced on the sail, automatically correcting if any dangerous oscillations build-up that could destroy the sail.\n\nhttps://arxiv.org/abs/2401.16924\n\nhttps://m.universetoday.com/system/media_attachments/files/111/858/808/499/494/917/original/85943b1ccba98425.jpg",
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