The Sun radiates about 3.83 $\times$10²⁶ W of power.How large should a perfectly reflecting solar sail be on a space ship of mass 50 kg to provide an acceleration of 10^-4 m/s² at the Earth's orbit? The radius of Earth's orbit is 1.50 $\times$10¹¹ m. A)550 m² B)625 m² C)1100 m² D)2500 m² E)None of these is correct.

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Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The correct answer is A because the power of the Sun is 3.83 x 10^26 W, the radius of the Earth's orbit is 1.50 x 10^11 m, the mass of the spaceship is 50 kg, and the acceleration is 10^-4 m/s^2. The area of the solar sail is then given by:A = P / (c * a * r)where P is the power of the Sun, c is the speed of light, a is the acceleration, and r is the radius of the Earth's orbit. Plugging in the values, we get:A = (3.83 x 10^26 W) / ((3 x 10^8 m/s) * (10^-4 m/s^2) * (1.50 x 10^11 m))= 550 m^2

The Sun Radiates About 3 ×\times× 1026 W of Power ×\times× 1011 M

The Sun Radiates About 3 $\times$ 10²⁶ W of Power $\times$ 10¹¹ M