Question

A solar sail allows a spacecraft to use radiation pressure for propulsion, similar to the way wind propels a sailboat. The sails of such spacecraft are made out of enormous reflecting panels. The area of the panels is maximized to catch the largest number of incident photons, thus maximizing the momentum transfer from the incident radiation. If such a spacecraft were to be simply pushed away from a star by the incident photons, the force of the radiation pressure would have to be be greater than the gravitational attraction from the star emitting the photons. The critical parameter is the area density (mass per unit area) of the sail.
Part A:
Consider a perfectly reflecting mirror oriented so that solar radiation of intensity I is incident upon, and perpendicular to, the reflective surface of the mirror. If the mirror has surface area A, what is Frad, the magnitude of the average force due to the radiation pressure of the sunlight on the mirror?

Express your answer in terms of the intensity I, the mirror's surface area A, and the speed of light c.
Frad = 2IAc

Answer 1

Answer:

  F = 2 I A / c

Explanation:

The radiation pressure on a reflective surface is

        P = 2 S / c

Where S is the Poynting Vector and c the speed of light

Furthermore pressure is defined as the ratio of force to area

        P = F / A

Let's replace

        F / A = 2 S / c

        F = 2 S A / c

The poynting vector is the power per unit area that is equal to the intensity

      S = I

       F = 2 I A / c