Slashdot Mirror
Ikaros Spacecraft Successfully Propelled In Space
An anonymous reader writes "Japan's IKAROS spacecraft has already successfully deployed the first solar sail in space, but today it made the only first that really matters: it successfully captured the sun's rays with its 3,000-square-foot sail and used the energy to speed its way through space. Each photon of light exerts 0.0002 pounds of pressure on the 3,000-square-foot sail, and the steady stream of solar exposure has succeeded in propelling the nearly 700-pound drone."
Arthur C Clarke's writings on solar sails usually (not always, but usually) didn't involve photonic pressure but rather involved the charged particles of the solar wind. Much more energy is involved and you can operate further from the sun. (Almost no photonic energy by the time you reach Jupiter - the sun is barely distinguishable from any other star at that distance - but the solar wind remains significant until you reach the heliopause.)
It's a small world and it smells funny; I'd buy another if it wasn't for the money; Take back what I paid (SoM)
"Each photon of light exerts 0.0002 pounds of pressure"
I was knocked over when I read that!
You should turn down the intensity on your monitor and read /. in the dark.
http://michaelsmith.id.au