Electrodynamics Let’s consider a small satellite (~1 kg) being pushed to the moon by nothing but radiation pressure on a 30 m2 reflective sail (although not entirely accurate, we’ll forget about gravity and orbital dynamics just to get a feel for things). Estimate the time it would take for this satellite to travel to the moon. Note that on earth, the time-averaged flux of electromagnetic energy from the sun is about 0.14 watts/cm2.

Electrodynamics Let’s consider a small satellite (~1 kg) being pushed to the moon by nothing but radiation pressure on a 30 m2 reflective sail (although not entirely accurate, we’ll forget about gravity and orbital dynamics just to get a feel for things). Estimate the time it would take for this satellite to travel to the moon. Note that on earth, the time-averaged flux of electromagnetic energy from the sun is about 0.14 watts/cm2.