Can Light Alter the Velocity of Asteroids in Space?

  • Thread starter Thread starter BobbyWOMACK
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Asteroids Light
AI Thread Summary
Light can indeed exert pressure on asteroids in space, primarily through the Yarkovsky Effect, which describes how sunlight can cause small changes in an object's trajectory over time. However, light does not behave like mass in a collision; it does not have mass and cannot directly alter an object's velocity in the same way that two colliding trains would. Instead, light interacts with objects through radiation pressure, which can impart momentum but is generally much weaker than traditional collision forces. This means that while light can influence the motion of asteroids, it does so in a fundamentally different manner than physical collisions. Understanding these principles is crucial for exploring potential asteroid deflection strategies.
BobbyWOMACK
Messages
1
Reaction score
0
Hey what's up! So I'm trying to wrap my head around this concept that light is able to push asteroids in space. I understand the Yarkovsky Effect and how it acts as a propulsion system, but I want to know if light is able to push objects in space strictly based on a collision basis. Can it replicate a simple example where to trains collide into each other; Is light able to act as mass colliding with another object altering its velocity?

Thanks
 
Astronomy news on Phys.org
BobbyWOMACK said:
Hey what's up! So I'm trying to wrap my head around this concept that light is able to push asteroids in space. I understand the Yarkovsky Effect and how it acts as a propulsion system, but I want to know if light is able to push objects in space strictly based on a collision basis. Can it replicate a simple example where to trains collide into each other; Is light able to act as mass colliding with another object altering its velocity?

Thanks

Google "light sail"
 

Thread 'Our Beautiful Universe - Photos and Videos'

This thread is dedicated to the beauty and awesomeness of our Universe. If you feel like it, please share video clips and photos (or nice animations) of space and objects in space in this thread. Your posts, clips and photos may by all means include scientific information; that does not make it less beautiful to me (n.b. the posts must of course comply with the PF guidelines, i.e. regarding science, only mainstream science is allowed, fringe/pseudoscience is not allowed). n.b. I start this...
View full post »

Thread 'Asteroid 2024 YR4 has a 1% risk of a multi-megaton impact in 2032 (now ruled out)'

Asteroid, Data - 1.2% risk of an impact on December 22, 2032. The estimated diameter is 55 m and an impact would likely release an energy of 8 megatons of TNT equivalent, although these numbers have a large uncertainty - it could also be 1 or 100 megatons. Currently the object has level 3 on the Torino scale, the second-highest ever (after Apophis) and only the third object to exceed level 1. Most likely it will miss, and if it hits then most likely it'll hit an ocean and be harmless, but...
View full post »

Similar threads

B Biggest asteroid to pass Earth in 2021
Replies
1
Views
2K
I Perceived Speed of Objects in Space
Replies
5
Views
2K
I On gravity and the conservation of energy
Replies
30
Views
5K
B NGC 4590, more than 1,400 stars found in various evolutionary stages
Replies
1
Views
1K
Can an Asteroid Collision with the Moon Create a Debris Cloud Around Earth?
Replies
6
Views
3K
Stargazing Can distance in space be measured by human systems?
Replies
22
Views
3K
B Gravitational Lensing: Gravity's Effect on Light
Replies
11
Views
2K
Stealth and detection in space: Continued
Replies
7
Views
2K
I Does light escape the Universe?
Replies
1
Views
1K
B Gravitational Wave Interference Graphical Computer Simulation
Replies
1
Views
2K

Hot Threads

Recent Insights

Back
Top