32. Electromagnetic Waves

A radio transmits a wave with intensity 27.0 W/m² towards a flat surface (perfectly reflecting) with area 2m². Calculate the force and radiation pressure on the surface.

A powerful laser portrayed in a movie provides a 3-mm-diameter beam of green light with a power of 3 W. A good agent inside a spacecraft aims the laser beam at an enemy astronaut hovering outside. The mass of the enemy astronaut is 120 kg and the spacecraft 185,000 kg. (a) Determine the “radiation-pressure” force exerted on the enemy by the laser beam assuming her suit is perfectly reflecting. (b) If the enemy is 30 m from the spacecraft’s center of mass, estimate the gravitational force the spacecraft exerts on the enemy. (c) Which of the two forces is larger, and by what factor?

What is the maximum power level of a radio station so as to avoid electrical breakdown of air at a distance of 0.75 m from the transmitting antenna? Assume the antenna is a point source. Air breaks down in an electric field of about 3 x 10⁶ V/m.

The radiation pressure (Section 31–9) created by electromagnetic waves might someday be used to power spacecraft through the use of a “solar sail,” Example 31–8. (a) Assuming total reflection, what would be the pressure on a solar sail located at the same distance from the Sun as the Earth (where I = 1350 W/m²)? (b) Suppose the sail material has a mass density of 1 g/m². What would be the acceleration of the sail due to solar radiation pressure? (c) A realistic solar sail would have a payload. How big a sail would you need to accelerate a 100-kg payload at 1 x 10⁻³ m/s²?