Category:Sailing - Revision history

Ben: added thumbnail

2012-08-22T15:41:44Z

added thumbnail

Ben: fixed link to Drexler page

2012-07-06T19:48:13Z

fixed link to Drexler page

Ben at 14:47, 26 January 2011

2011-01-26T14:47:52Z

Ben: New page: Solar sailing is a way of moving around in space by allowing sunlight to push a spacecraft. In everyday experience, we do not feel any kind of force or pressure from sunlight. This is beca...

2009-06-30T15:19:43Z

New page: Solar sailing is a way of moving around in space by allowing sunlight to push a spacecraft. In everyday experience, we do not feel any kind of force or pressure from sunlight. This is beca...

New page

Solar sailing is a way of moving around in space by allowing sunlight to push a spacecraft. In everyday experience, we do not feel any kind of force or pressure from sunlight. This is because sunlight is so gentle that all the other things in our environment - gravity, wind, and the strength of our own bodies - drown it out. However, in space, there is no air, and objects are freely falling through space instead of constantly fighting gravity. In this environment, sunlight can dominate and allow spacecraft to move at will, like sailing vessels on Earth's oceans.

The following documents describe the basic principles of solar sailing.

* [[Solar Sailing 101]]

* [http://www.howstuffworks.com/solarsail.htm How Solar Sail Technology Works]
* [http://www.howstuffworks.com/solar-sail.htm How Solar Sails Work]
* [[The Physics of Solar Sailing]], by Christopher Neufeld

* [[Tacking Solar Sails]], by Benjamin Diedrich
* [http://www.nas.nasa.gov/Services/Education/SpaceSettlement/CoEvolutionBook/EDUC.HTML#Solar%20Sailing Solar Sailing], by Eric Drexler

← Older revision		Revision as of 15:41, 22 August 2012
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		+	[[File:Sailorbtransfer.png\|thumb\|Solar sailing towards & away from the sun.]]
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	Solar sailing is a way of moving around in space by allowing sunlight to push a spacecraft. In everyday experience, we do not feel any kind of force or pressure from sunlight. This is because sunlight is so gentle that all the other things in our environment - gravity, wind, and the strength of our own bodies - drown it out. However, in space, there is no air, and objects are freely falling through space instead of constantly fighting gravity. In this environment, sunlight can dominate and allow spacecraft to move at will, like sailing vessels on Earth's oceans.		Solar sailing is a way of moving around in space by allowing sunlight to push a spacecraft. In everyday experience, we do not feel any kind of force or pressure from sunlight. This is because sunlight is so gentle that all the other things in our environment - gravity, wind, and the strength of our own bodies - drown it out. However, in space, there is no air, and objects are freely falling through space instead of constantly fighting gravity. In this environment, sunlight can dominate and allow spacecraft to move at will, like sailing vessels on Earth's oceans.

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 <!--* [http://www.scientium.com/specials/sotm/starship/sailships.htm#solar Solar and Laser Driven Lightsails], by Alasdair Allan-->
 * [[Tacking Solar Sails]]
-* [http://www.nas.nasa.gov/Services/Education/SpaceSettlement/CoEvolutionBook/EDUC.HTML#Solar%20Sailing Solar Sailing], by Eric Drexler
+* [http://settlement.arc.nasa.gov/CoEvolutionBook/EDUC.HTML#Solar%20Sailing Solar Sailing], by Eric Drexler