Question:

A solar sail consists of a very light thin plane surface

Last updated: 6/7/2023

A solar sail consists of a very light thin plane surface

A solar sail consists of a very light thin plane surface which can absorb all the photons incident on it Consider such a sail placed at a very large distance from the sun normal to the direction of incident radiation What is the mass per unit area of the sail such that it will neither be blown away nor be pulled in by the sun Given Mean distance of the earth from the sun semi major axis 1 5 10 km Intensity of solar radiation outside the earth s atmosphere 1 4 kW m Speed of light 3 108 m s Take 1 earth year 107 s Express your answer in ma m2 and round off to the nearest integer