Re: starship-design: Beamed Power (was: Perihelion Maneuver)

[kuo@bit.csc.lsu.edu (Isaac Kuo)]

L. Parker wrote:

>BTW, it is totally unnecessary for the sats to be in phase if you are using 
>a laser sail concept. You are simply delivering a concentrated replacement 
>for sunlight, it doesn't even have to be monochromatic. I'm not familiar 
>enough with your microwave concept to know if you NEED coherent microwave 
>energy at the the receiving end.

It is necessary because a coherent beam will travel with less spread.
With a target spot of 1km, 1mm wavelength, and a target distance
of 36,000,000,000km (2 week acceleration to .2c), an aperture with a
diameter around 36,000km is needed.  Splitting that up into smaller
emitters will require all of them to be emitting in the proper phase
to produce a coherent beam.
-- 
    _____     Isaac Kuo kuo@bit.csc.lsu.edu http://www.csc.lsu.edu/~kuo
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