Engineers propose propelling a 250 kg spacecraft with a square solar sail of area 50 m²
PHYSICS · Multi-part · A Level · Physics · Particles and radiation · Particles and radiation
Problem
Engineers propose propelling a 250 kg spacecraft with a square solar sail of area 50 m². At Earth’s orbital distance, the solar energy flux (solar constant) may be taken as 1.36×103Wm−2. Assume the sail is perfectly reflecting and always oriented perpendicular to incoming sunlight.
(a) Determine the total energy delivered to the sail each second.
(b) Calculate the total linear momentum transferred to the sail each second.
(c) Determine the average force acting on the spacecraft due to the sunlight.
(d) Calculate the resulting acceleration of the spacecraft and comment on whether this magnitude is significant for long-duration missions.