Scientists have proposed using the radiation pressure of sunlight for travel to other planets in the Solar System. If the intensity of the electromagnetic radiation produced by the Sun is about 1.4 kW/m2 near the Earth, what size would a sail have to be to accelerate a spaceship with a mass of 12.3 metric tons at 1.47 m/s2
a) Assume that the sail absorbs all the incident radiation.
b) Assume that the sail perfectly reflects all the incident radiation.