Next Big Future
NASA is working on photophoretic levitation to uase light-induced heating to create a force that lifts and propels specially designed structures in rarefied atmospheres, such as Earth’s mesosphere (approximately 50-80 km altitude). This involves metamaterial plates or 3D hollow geometries (e.g., cones, spheres, or rocket shapes) with porous sidewalls that act as Knudsen pumps: light …
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Between High Altitude Balloons and Low Satellites Will Be Photophoretic Propulsion
Brian Wang
02:20
NASA is working on photophoretic levitation to uase light-induced heating to create a force that lifts and propels specially designed structures in rarefied atmospheres, such as Earth’s mesosphere (approximately 50-80 km altitude). This involves metamaterial plates or 3D hollow geometries (e.g., cones, spheres, or rocket shapes) with porous sidewalls that act as Knudsen pumps: light
