I know that momentum is a potential to change energy not necessarily involving mass. But, could someone please explain what force is actually imparted? I’m stuck thinking of the sail like a battery that was just given a charge, but has no propulsion system to provide the charge to.
In: Physics
Photons don’t have mass, but *do* have momentum (and energy). If one is reflected off a sail, it transfers momentum, same as if you’d thrown a tennis ball that bounced off the sail.
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