Interstellar vehicle propelled by terrestrial laser beam
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ABSTRACT IN a recent article Marx1 examined the possibility that interstellar travel may be accomplished in the lifetime of an astronaut. He pointed out that the attainment of relativistic
velocities by a rocket-propelled vehicle is hampered by the low efficiency, which is a result of the energy acquired by the ejected mass. Marx suggested that if an interstellar vehicle were
driven by the pressure exerted on it by a light beam transmitted from the Earth, then, because the recoil momentum and energy would now be acquired by an extremely massive body—the Earth—the
energy wasted would be negligible. Access through your institution Buy or subscribe This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution ACCESS OPTIONS Access through your
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our FAQs * Contact customer support SIMILAR CONTENT BEING VIEWED BY OTHERS EXPERIMENTAL DEMONSTRATION OF TRACTOR MILLIMETER WAVE BEAM PROPULSION Article Open access 20 May 2025 SWARM OF
LIGHTSAIL NANOSATELLITES FOR SOLAR SYSTEM EXPLORATION Article Open access 09 November 2023 FREE-FLIGHT AND TRACKING EXPERIMENTS OF A MULTI-PARABOLA LASER PROPULSION VEHICLE Article Open
access 03 May 2025 REFERENCES * Marx, G., _Nature_, 211, 22 (1966). Article ADS Google Scholar Download references AUTHOR INFORMATION AUTHORS AND AFFILIATIONS * Bishop's University,
Lennoxville, P.Q., Canada J. L. REDDING Authors * J. L. REDDING View author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar RIGHTS AND PERMISSIONS Reprints and
permissions ABOUT THIS ARTICLE CITE THIS ARTICLE REDDING, J. Interstellar Vehicle propelled by Terrestrial Laser Beam. _Nature_ 213, 588–589 (1967). https://doi.org/10.1038/213588a0 Download
citation * Received: 15 September 1966 * Revised: 10 January 1967 * Published: 01 February 1967 * Issue Date: 11 February 1967 * DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/213588a0 SHARE THIS ARTICLE
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