You are not logged in. Your edit will be placed in a queue until it is peer reviewed.
We welcome edits that make the post easier to understand and more valuable for readers. Because community members review edits, please try to make the post substantially better than how you found it, for example, by fixing grammar or adding additional resources and hyperlinks.
-
10$\begingroup$ I believe you're assuming 100% absorptance? As the other answer's comment points out, if photons are reflected, you get twice the momentum transfer. $\endgroup$– Carl WitthoftCommented Jan 11, 2022 at 17:35
-
$\begingroup$ @JonCuster You must also consider the pressure of the outgoing infrared that results from the sunlight heating the field. So, the actual pressure will be intermediate between the perfect absorber and specular reflector cases. $\endgroup$– John DotyCommented Jan 11, 2022 at 23:02
-
18$\begingroup$ I’ve purged a debate about introductory relativity. Please do that somewhere else. $\endgroup$– rob ♦Commented Jan 12, 2022 at 3:54
-
9$\begingroup$ Some additional comments removed. If anyone has concerns about “censorship,” please raise them on Physics Meta, not here. $\endgroup$– rob ♦Commented Jan 12, 2022 at 14:52
-
5$\begingroup$ @samerivertwice your suggested defect is incorrect. For any object $m^2 c^2 = E^2/c^2 - p^2$ which, for a massless object like a photon this reduces to $p=E/c$. Gravity is not relevant to the momentum. A photon has momentum because it is massless and it has energy. The momentum of light is well founded both in theory and in experiment. Here is a lecture that covers both the theory and some experiments: ocw.mit.edu/courses/electrical-engineering-and-computer-science/… $\endgroup$– DaleCommented Jan 14, 2022 at 13:54
|
Show 7 more comments
How to Edit
- Correct minor typos or mistakes
- Clarify meaning without changing it
- Add related resources or links
- Always respect the author’s intent
- Don’t use edits to reply to the author
How to Format
-
create code fences with backticks ` or tildes ~
```
like so
``` -
add language identifier to highlight code
```python
def function(foo):
print(foo)
``` - put returns between paragraphs
- for linebreak add 2 spaces at end
- _italic_ or **bold**
- quote by placing > at start of line
- to make links (use https whenever possible)
<https://example.com>
[example](https://example.com)
<a href="https://example.com">example</a> - MathJax equations
$\sin^2 \theta$
How to Tag
A tag is a keyword or label that categorizes your question with other, similar questions. Choose one or more (up to 5) tags that will help answerers to find and interpret your question.
- complete the sentence: my question is about...
- use tags that describe things or concepts that are essential, not incidental to your question
- favor using existing popular tags
- read the descriptions that appear below the tag
If your question is primarily about a topic for which you can't find a tag:
- combine multiple words into single-words with hyphens (e.g. quantum-mechanics), up to a maximum of 35 characters
- creating new tags is a privilege; if you can't yet create a tag you need, then post this question without it, then ask the community to create it for you