Abstract
In the previous chapters, we described the space rocket engines, how they work, their role in past and current spaceflight and their limitations. We have also shown that the rocket is not the only propulsion type that could be employed in space. Among the types of space propulsion currently under investigation, one is particularly promising: the solar sail. This propulsion mode is not conceptually new, even though only recent technology gives it a good chance to make a quality jump in spaceflight. Its principles and how to efficiently use a sail vehicle could be understood better by reviewing what happened about four millennia ago on the seas and by referring to the progress of physics in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Early pioneers of solar sailing conceived a space use of sails in the first half of the twentieth century, whereas the first technical publications and space designs began in the second half. But let us proceed in chronological order.
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Notes
- 1.
In 1900, Max Planck published the first quantum theory, in which light is treated as a particle endowed with discrete amounts of energy, called quanta. Planck considered such particles to be the basic units of energy. According to Albert Einstein, the energy of such an element is expressed by E = hv = hc/λ, where λ denotes the wavelength. Although very simple, this relationship contains two of the most important constants of nature, the speed of light (c) in vacuum and the Planck constant (h) (see Glossary). In addition to energy, such elements transport momentum (p) (see Glossary) given by p = E/c = h/λ. Even though it is the carrier of energy and momentum, the quantum of light does not have mass!
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Further Reading
Further Reading
Phoenicians
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http://www.worldwideschool.org/library/books/hst/ancient/History of Phoenicia.
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http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/prehistory/aegean/theculturesofgreece/phoenician.html.
Sea Sailing
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Bob Bond, The Handbook of Sailing, Knopf, New York, 1992.
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Ross Garrett, Dave Wilkie, The Symmetry of Sailing: The Physics of Sailing for Yachtsmen, Sheridan House, 1996.
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J. J. Isler, Peter Isler, Sailing for Dummies, Hungry Minds, Inc. 1997.
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Bryon D. Anderson, The Physics of Sailing Explained, Sheridan House, 2003.
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http://www.nationalgeographic.com/volvooceanrace/interactives/sailing/index.html.
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http://www.wb-sails.fi/news/SailPowerCalc/SailPowerCalc.htm.
History of Physics and Light Pressure
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R. D. Purrington, Physics in the Nineteenth Century, Rutgers University Press, 1997.
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Vulpetti, G., Johnson, L., Matloff, G.L. (2015). The Solar Sail Option: From the Oceans to Space. In: Solar Sails. Springer Praxis Books(). Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-0941-4_5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-0941-4_5
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