Solar Sailing Impossible...

Adam — 7/3/2003 10:27:13 AM (archived)

...claims Thomas Gold, noted physicist...

http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99993895

...solar-sailing violates thermodynamic principles because there is no exchange of energy between a reflected photon and the sail, yet the sail is supposed to move via momentum exchange. Either the conservation of momentum is WRONG or thermodynamic law is VIOLATED...

http://www.arxiv.org/html/physics/0306050

...title: "The solar sail and the mirror". Either momentum conservation OR thermodynamics is in trouble!!!

Note: My problem with Gold's claim is those NASA pics from a while ago of a graphite sail levitating on a laser beam. Yet Gold has a point - where is the energy for the sail coming from????

Adam

The whole thread (9 posts)

Solar Sailing Impossible... - Adam - 7/3/2003 10:27:13 AM
- Details why Gold is as wrong as EPG - phil - 7/3/2003 9:14:41 PM
- Solar Sailing NOT Impossible, But Probably Impractical - David F Mayer - 7/3/2003 11:42:48 AM
  - Pardon me. When I wrote "you" I meant Tommy Gold. - David F Mayer - 7/3/2003 11:53:22 AM
    - Gold's arguement relies on the fact that silvered mirrors *do not* shift the light to red - alcaray - 7/3/2003 4:20:25 PM
      - Professor Thomas Gold, the late Dr. Fred Hoyle; cut from the same cloth? - Jacob Samorodin - 7/3/2003 6:15:03 PM
        
        On Hoyle - R.L. - 7/3/2003 9:54:33 PM
        
        He doesnt even understand how Crookes Radiometer works!!! - R.L. - 7/3/2003 7:41:34 PM
        
        Dispute the argument, not the proponent. (n/t) - alcaray - 7/3/2003 6:30:01 PM

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