The Stellar Wind Sail · AI Generator #GEN-3F3202D4

Physics · thermodynamics

Problem

A spacecraft uses a large reflective sail to harness radiation pressure from a nearby star for propulsion. The star emits as a perfect blackbody with surface temperature T=6000  KT = 6000\;\text{K} and radius R=7.0×108  mR = 7.0 \times 10^8\;\text{m}. The spacecraft is positioned at distance d=1.5×1011  md = 1.5 \times 10^{11}\;\text{m} from the star's center. The sail has area A=104  m2A = 10^4\;\text{m}^2 and reflects all incident radiation perfectly. When electromagnetic radiation reflects from a surface, it exerts a pressure P=2I/cP = 2I/c on that surface, where II is the intensity and cc is the speed of light. Find the radiation pressure force on the sail. Use σ=5.67×10−8  W⋅m−2⋅K−4\sigma = 5.67 \times 10^{-8}\;\text{W}\cdot\text{m}^{-2}\cdot\text{K}^{-4} and c=3.0×108  m/sc = 3.0 \times 10^8\;\text{m/s}.

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