astronomy field of study What Is A Solar Sail?

I'm Fraser Cain, and I'm a sailor. Well, okay, I've got a sailboat that I take out on the water when its warm and the weather's nice here on Vancouver Island. I think it's one of the reasons I absolutely love the idea of a solar sail.

Here's how they work: Light is made up of photons. Even though they have no mass at rest, they have momentum when they're moving, well, light speed. When they reflect off a surface, like a mirror or a shiny piece of metal, they impart some of this momentum to that surface. This effect is negligible here on Earth, but out in space, with forces perfectly in balance, that additional momentum can really add up.

A spacecraft flying to Mars gets pushed off course by several thousand kilometers because of light pressure from the Sun.If mission planners didn't compensate for this drift, their spacecraft would miss the planet, or even worse, crash into it. Even though the total amount of pressure per square meter on a solar sail is minuscule, it's constantly streaming from the Sun, and it's totally free....And propulsion that you don't have to carry with you is the best kind there is.

This is more than just an idea. Solar sails have already been launched and deployed in space. The Japanese Ikaros satellite unfurled a 14-meter solar sail back in 2010. NASA launched its own Nanosail-D spacecraft in 2011. An even bigger solar sail, the Sunjammer, is planned for launch in 2014. The Planetary Society is working on a solar sail project as well.

The closer to the Sun you are, the better they work. In fact, a solar sail would be an ideal vehicle to explore the regions of Mercury and Venus, since they receive so much radiation. But you're probably wondering how a solar sail could get down to those planets because light is streaming from the Sun in all directions. It's all about raising and lowering your orbit. If you want to raise your orbit around an object, all you have to do is speed up. And if you want to lower your orbit, you just need to slow down.

A solar sail launched from Earth would start out with the same orbital velocity around the Sun as the Earth. To get into a higher orbit, it tilts the sail so that the light from the Sun speeds it up. And to get into a lower orbit, it tilts in the opposite direction, and the light from the Sun acts like a brake.

A solar sail might even be the ideal spacecraft to make the journey to another star. An interstellar solar sail could lower its orbit so that it's just above the surface of the Sun. Then, it would unfurl the full sail and capture the most possible photons. A series of powerful laser beams would then target the sail and increase its velocity to a significant fraction of the speed of light.

Of course, you'd need a solar sail thousands of kilometers across, made of a material thinner than a human hair, and lasers putting out more energy than all of humanity. The idea is still intriguing, even though it's well outside our current technology. Once this technology gets better tested, we'll to see many more missions employ solar sails as part of their propulsion system.

astronomy field of study What Is A Solar Sail?
354 Likes	354 Dislikes
26,946 views views	253K followers
Science & Technology	Upload TimePublished on 19 Jan 2014

Related keywords

lightsail precios,space news in tamil,solar energy industry growth,space news nasa,solar sail bill nye,fraser cain age,astronomy domine letra,astronomy news,fraser cain credentials,interstellar travel methods,science magazine,astronomy tools,momentum cache,sundance,solar sailing light,lightsail wordpress,solar sail material,universe today podcast,lighting,universe 25,universe today newsletter,lightsail 2 speed,interstellar travel means,light sailed,universe today,space jam 2 cast,lightsail vs digitalocean,universe today venus,solar sails in space,mars attacks,fraser cain wiki,interstellar travel calculator,marsha p johnson,astronomy letra,light rail,space news moon,interstellar travel in fiction,universe quotes,fraser cain wikipedia,solar sailing in space,space exploration games,momentum pastilla,space exploration games ps4,interstellar travel reddit,universe today pluto,nasa shirt,lightspeed,interstellar travel 2019,nasal decongestant,lights,speed of light iron maiden,lightsail 1 spacecraft,space exploration games pc,solar sailing wiki,nasal cavity,universe meaning,sunflower,bill nye saves the world,technology addiction,kerbal space program video game,technology companies,earth science regents,solar energy industry overview,sunset,universe of obligation,fraser cain bio,fraser cains actor,speed of light stratovarius,light sail spaceship,lightning strike map,bill nye wife,solar sailing technology,aws lightsail ubuntu 18.04,fraser cain book,universe tickets,marshmello,universe today jupiter,sunset time,science museum london,sunrise time,solar sail propulsion,earthlink webmail,solar sailing explained,amazon lightsail ubuntu 18,space exploration design,light sailing jacket,solar sails space travel,nasa florida,light as a feather,science fiction lyrics,space exploration technologies,interstellar travel impossible,nasa lyrics,bill nye death date,science daily,how solar sails will work,universe today fraser cain,solar sailing spacecraft launch,technology meme,space news mars,space mountain,lightsail 2 mission control,solar sailing watch,universe today book,space exploration news,astronomy metallica,bill nye detective pikachu,speed of light omd lyrics,bill nye twitter,sunglass hut,universe definition,lightstream,science fiction,solar sailer kh2,speed of light letra en español,speed of light iron maiden letra español,astronomy picture of the day,bill nye john oliver,solar sailing to mars,momentum 20 mg precio,fraser cain wife,momentum tadalafilo,universe today news,space exploration definition,nasal congestion,universe today mars,universe today neptune,lightroom presets,nasa news,fraser cain podcast,space jam,solar sailing articles,technology in education,interstellar travel documentary,universe age,solar sail games,lightsail free tier,lightsail dns,technology stocks,universe today years of the planets,lightsail 2 status,how do solar sails work,solar sail speed,marshall plan,sunpass,sun poisoning,solar sails to mars,science advances,technology stack,solar sails sailboat,solar sail spacecraft,amazon lightsail ubuntu 18.04,science direct elsevier,astronomy domine lyrics,astronomy domine tab,space news india,sun country airlines,space exploration timeline,light brown hair,science bits,universe today mercury,marshall store,space news articles,interstellar travel will never happen,space exploration quotes,solar sails game,lightning bugs,solar energy industry oil and gas,earthquake now,bill nye the science guy theme,nasa hoodie,technology credit union,speed of light in vacuum,space exploration day,lightsail launch,space news in hindi,space jam 2,speed of light mph,light fixtures,solar sailor,astronomy reddit,universe sandbox,lightsail debian 10,lightsail 1 launch date,lightsail to ec2,momentum meaning,astronomy software,sciencealert,lightsail windows 10,nasa jobs,universe tattoo,solar energy industry jobs,space exploration factorio,= 299792458 m / s,light sail ship,solar sail acceleration,fraser cain patreon,fraser cain biography,universe of stories,how solar sails work,solar sailing catamaran,earthquake near me,sun tan city,interstellar travel news,fraser cain youtube,solar sailing drone,science direct,space newsletter,lightsail wiki,technology jobs,solar energy industry in nigeria,bill nye iq,nasa space center,sciences po,sunsplash,spacex stock,sunbiz,space news websites,space exploration articles,momentum tadalafilo 5 mg precio,astronomy for dummies pdf,speed of light tab,marshall beach,sunoco,nasacort,sunbelt rentals,lightsail energy,science hub,universe today saturn,space exploration merit badge,science kombat,nasa astronaut anne mcclain,solar sail asteroid,sunset today,universe today twitter,space needle,space news podcast,speed of light in km/h,interstellar travel crossword clue,bill nye the science guy,solar sailing boat,interstellar travel ksp,momentum imdb,interstellar travel crossword,technology definition,astronomy domine chords,fraser cain newsletter,fraser cain twitter,universe today uranus,lightsail education,technology stores near me,astronomy lyrics,lightning mcqueen,solar sails for boats,lightsail nasa,universe background,bill nye the science guy intro,momentum fisica,earthquake california,astronomy and astrophysics,nasal vestibulitis,marshmallow,solar energy industry employment statistics,universe today logo,solar sailing satellite,space center houston,technology news,solar sailing spacecraft,eartha kitt,bill nye age,solar sail launch,interstellar travel nasa,lightinthebox,space exploration history,bill nye education,lightsail app,lightroom,lightning,solar sailer star wars,suntrust,momentum 20 mg,universe today app,fraser cain net worth,lightsail rosen,solar sailer,space exploration movies,space news daily,solar sailcraft tab,lightsail space,marshall ca,astronomy names,solar energy industry in india,earth signs,space exploration merit badge worksheet,sunrise,sunflower lyrics,technology high school,speed of light stratovarius tab,lightsail 1 mission,space exploration jobs,lights out,solar sailing,universe today patreon,light pink,momentum angular,nasal polyps,nasa fcu,universe sandbox free,technology quotes,momentum 2,universe today big bang theory,space news app,momentum generation,earth lyrics,earth lil dicky,marshalls san jose,bill nye movies,solar sails in science fiction,solar energy industry trends,solar sailing symposium,fraser cain education,speed of light in meters per second,interstellar travel technology,speed of light iron maiden lyrics,solar sails nasa,momentum lineal,solar energy industry association,fraser cain email,earth wind and fire,space crime,solar sails lowes,solar energy industry outlook,marshawn lynch,spacex,universe synonym,earth shoes,solar energy industry analysis,space news now,earth fare,solar sail 2,marsai martin,earthquake bay area,earthquake today,science research,space exploration companies,solar sails sisko,speed of lightning,nasa houston,nave lightsail-1,space news 2019,solar sailboat,momentum chrome,momentum fitness,interstellar travel books,lights out tour,solar sailing ship,bill nye quotes,interstellar travel not possible,speed of light lyrics,space coast credit union,light sail propulsion,lightsail ssl,science en español,solar sail shade,technology background,earthgang,lightsail-1 wiki,lightsail,astronomy metallica lyrics,space cowboys,space news asteroid,technology synonym,lightsail 2 launch,earthlink,lightsail news,solar energy industry news,nasal spray,interstellar travel possible,solar sailing yacht,marsupial,technology in the classroom,lightsail que es,astronomy books,speed of light km/s,space news reddit,bill nye the science guy episodes,lightsail vs ec2,astronomy domine,marshall islands,momentum formula,how do solar sails work nasa,speed of light in air,momentum pelicula,lightsail login,solar sailing book,solar sailing success,lightsail web,fraser cain death threats,space exploration facts,space race,marshall faulk,solar energy industry in canada,space news uk,http://spacenews.com,interstellar travel definition,spaceballs,mars bar,speed of light letra,sunburn,science of the total environment,science fiction movies,light sail vr,lightsail ubuntu 18.04,solar sails definition,fraser cains grange hill,nasa astronauts,interstellar travel movies,technology readiness level,solar sailing mcinnes,solar energy industry,space exploration benefits,earthquake los angeles,solar energy industry in the philippines,universe wallpaper,solar energy industry value chain,space force,lightsail speed,lightning bolt,science news,science traduccion,nasa amazon fire,bill nye vs ken ham,space movies,marshalls,universe towing,momentum significado,nasa logo,space invaders,universe appliance,solar sail deployment,marsala wine,universe today earth,space news australia,lightsail pricing,sailboat solar,solar energy industry analysis india,universe pictures,how does solar sails work,earthquake,marsha edwards,space station,suntrust park,spacex launch,speed of light in km,technology insurance company,lightsail 1 launch,space news magazine,bill nye net worth,marshmello face,science citation index,solar sail project,lighthouse,speed of light shrine,momentum movie,space shuttle,solar energy industry in malaysia,solar energy industry in australia,space camp,astronomy linux,technology etf,fraser cain astronomy,astronomy wallpaper,solar energy industry association (seia),technology student association,bill nye climate change,speed of light iron maiden tab,momentum traduccion,earthbound,lightsail 2 tracking,lightsail 1,lightsail 2,universe dota,marseille,universe toyota,earthworm sally,bill nye wiki,bill nye vs isaac newton,