Solar sails could be steered by light alone

摘要

Light has been used to generate aerodynamic-like lift for the first time. The technique, which takes advantage of the fact that light bends, or refracts, when moving from one medium to another, could be used to create solar-sail spacecraft steered using light alone. Photons create pressure when they bounce off objects. Solar sails are made from highly reflective materials to maximise this push, but the effect does not allow the sails to be easily steered. "It's well known you can use a light source to push on something, but the steering mecFfanisms are still up for grabs," says Grover Swartzlander of the Rochester Institute of Technology in New York state.