Can we use light to travel in space?

Question

Light is a form is engery can it be used to travel in space iam not talkin abt solar power or anything like that.. i heard that light exerts a small force which we dont feel but can be deteched using advanced equipments and comlicated experiments... But the question stil remain can we use light to travel like we fuel in our vehicels.. What do u think about it..plz answer both questions

Answer 1

Apart from solar sails, an onboard energy source can produce light (or EM radiation at other wavelengths) for propulsion. However, because of the nature of the rocket equation, it would be more efficient for the energy source to be used to accelerate matter (including it's waste product H2O, depleted uranium, or whatever) and use that as the propellent. There is one fuel - antimatter - whose reaction product (when combined with regular matter) *is* EM radiation (gamma ray photons). Not coincidentally, an antimatter-powered photon-driven rocket would be the fastest space ship possible, and the only one capable of reaching the stars in years (vs. millenia). Also not coincidentally, it is the most expensive fuel.

Answer 2

Yes the solar winds do push things ,but as u get further away the force is almost nothing,it is very small.
Start on a trip with a steady but small acceleration for a long time. At about half way there u will need to reverse the system to start to slow u down. Went through this using an Ion motor , it doesn't work well,u may not get it slowed down soon enough.

Answer 3

Oh yes .. the concept of the "solar sail" has been around for quite a while and is currently being developed for more testing by a group headed by the wife of the late Carl Segan. It is basicaly just like it sound .. a huge sail is unfurled in front of the ship and the "solar wind" coming from the sun pushes it ... acceleration is very slow but the top speed can be amazing.

Answer 4

Alot of people think it's possible; remember the solar sail that failed back in 2005? Not that it failed to perform what it was designed to do, but it never successfully reached orbit, so it's function could never be tested.

I always thought the idea sounded pretty implausible, but enough scientists and engineers believed in it enough to actually go through with the project.

If we wanted to use light to fuel our cars though, we would have to do it with solar power. The solar sail idea wouldn't work on our vehicles because of the type of materials we would have to use; you're just not going to get people to trade in their cars for reflective sail-vehicles. Things like friction and gravity might also prove problematic...

Answer 5

It is possible to build solar sails - much like wind sails - that could catch light and "sail" a ship through space.

Answer 6

No
Protons, or light particles, have no mass and therefore cannot produce a reaction needed to accelerate in space.

The solar wind, is actually protons, (not photons), and protons have mass.

Protons could be used because they have mass.

Answer 7

yes ofcourse.scientists and enggineers are trying to make solar sails which may travel in space by light energy from the sun.

Answer 8

not allowed to answer this =Its classified information.