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Engineering

The Feasibility of Laser Sail Interstellar Probes

Quick fact

Laser sails could theoretically accelerate a tiny probe to 20% the speed of light within just a few minutes, making interstellar travel possible in decades rather than centuries—but doing so would require a laser array with as much power as a major nuclear power plant, focused to a spot just a few meters wide.

Why this is interesting

Imagine a sail that is pushed not by wind, but by a beam of light. Could we ride such a light-pushed sail all the way to another star?