Interstellar solar sails hit a strange problem at 75% of light speed
New research suggests that interstellar solar sails may face a significant drag effect when approaching 75% of the speed of light. As the sail accelerates, relativistic light aberration and Doppler shifts reduce the efficiency of laser-based propulsion.
Why it matters
This theoretical limitation poses a major challenge for future interstellar travel concepts relying on light-sail technology.
Reaching another star within a practical amount of time will require something far more capable than chemical rockets. One of the leading ideas is a solar sail, a large reflective structure that can be pushed by light. If extremely powerful lasers are aimed at such a sail, they could accelerate it to speeds well beyond what current propulsion systems can achieve.
But there may be an unexpected problem once a lightsail begins traveling at a significant fraction of the speed of light. According to a new paper on arXiv by Chao Shen and Jiaze Li of the Harbin Institute of Technology, the same light used to propel the sail could eventually produce a drag effect.
The researchers separate the forces produced by photons striking a solar sail into three categories.
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