- solar sail
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A sail-like structure on a spacecraft consisting of enormous ultrathin mirrors, propulsion being achieved by the radiation pressure of light from a star or laser.
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solar sail
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Solar sail — Solar sails (also called light sails or photon sails, especially when they use light sources other than the Sun) are a proposed form of spacecraft propulsion using large membrane mirrors. Radiation pressure is about 10 5 Pa at Earth s distance… … Wikipedia
Solar Sail — The sail is pushed by Solar Wind, the flow of plasma leaving a sun, and used to propel a space ship. The sails are huge and delicate, and offer very slow acceleration. A Photon Engine could also push the Solar Sail. See Propulsion … The writer's dictionary of science fiction, fantasy, horror and mythology
solar sail — noun Date: 1958 a propulsive device for a spacecraft that consists of a flat material (as aluminized plastic) designed to receive thrust from solar radiation pressure … New Collegiate Dictionary
solar sail — noun : a propulsive device that consists of a flat material (as aluminized plastic) designed to receive thrust from solar radiation pressure and that can be attached to a spacecraft * * * Aerospace. a design concept for spacecraft propulsion… … Useful english dictionary
solar sail — Aerospace. a design concept for spacecraft propulsion consisting of a very thin, very large sheet of highly polished material that would be driven by the pressure of sunlight. [1955 60] * * * … Universalium
Solar energy — is the light and radiant heat from the Sun that powers Earth s climate and weather and sustains life. Since ancient times it has been harnessed for human use through a range of technologies. Solar radiation along with secondary solar resources… … Wikipedia
Solar thermal energy — Solar thermal system for water heating in Santorini, Greece … Wikipedia
Solar — means appertaining to the Sun, our planet s star. Solar also has other meanings. Related to energy * Active solar * Passive solar ** Passive solar building design * Solar cell, a device that directly creates electricity from solar energy * Solar… … Wikipedia
Solar wind — For other uses, see Solar wind (disambiguation). The solar wind is a stream of charged particles ejected from the upper atmosphere of the Sun. It mostly consists of electrons and protons with energies usually between 1.5 and 10 keV. The stream of … Wikipedia
Sail — A sail is any type of surface intended to generate thrust by being placed in a wind mdash;in essence a vertically oriented wing. Sails are used in sailing.History of sailsThe ships built at around 10,000 BC were just crude log rafts or dug out… … Wikipedia
