The best material would be something thin and shiny like mylar, no?
this post was submitted on 23 Nov 2024
33 points (94.6% liked)
Futurology
1805 readers
128 users here now
founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
Light? I mean they're light sails, right? ๐
(I'll see myself out)
Is lobster sauce made out of lobsters, or is it made of something else and you put it on lobsters?
Oh man youโve beat me to it
Light.
Interesting problem. Kinetic energy is E~k~ = kv^2^, where k = 1/2 for Newtonian physics. To double your speed, you need to apply four times the energy. Momentum is p = mv, so doubling your speed doubles your momentum. When you're in a vehicle collision, it's your momentum that hurts you as you collide with the car frame around you. Small particles don't have much mass, but at relativistic speeds they have a lot of momentum.
Gigantic lenses to burn away bad people.
What do Space Pirates use? Let's use that.
I would guess that the solution is in the name. Why else would they be light sails if they weren't made of light? Who's running this program?