From: Ron Kean (ronkean@juno.com)
Date: Mon Jul 26 1999 - 06:31:27 MDT
On Sun, 25 Jul 1999 19:02:13 -0400 "Michael S. Lorrey" <mike@lorrey.com>
writes:
The gravitational attraction is only important if sailmass X
gravitationalacceleration > solarwindmass X windvelocity^2. The lighter
the mass of your sail versus the area, the better.
Mike Lorrey
**********************************
Mass X acceleration equates to units of force, but mass X velocity^2
equates to units of energy. Since 'impulse', which is force X time,
equates to momentum, which is mass X velocity, force equates to [mass X
velocity] / time.
So, would it not be more correct to express the inequality as
sailmass X gravitationalacceleration > [solarwindmass / time] X
windvelocity,
so that the units balance?
In other words, if mass is impacting a target at the rate of one kilogram
per second with a relative velocity of one meter per second, and if the
collision is non-elastic such that all the momentum of the impacting mass
(relative to the target) is transferred to the target, the force imparted
to the target is one Newton.
Ron Kean
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.
.
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..
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