Just how dangerous is it to travel at 20% the speed of light?

http://arstechnica.com/science/2016/08/could-breakthrough-starshots-ships-survive-the-trip/

by redman25 • 10 years ago

14 8 10 years ago

scrumper2• 10 years ago

Charlie Stross wrote recently about the threat of beta radiation to these small probes[1]. This isn't discussed at all in this article or the associated paper[2] which focuses on purely mechanical collision effects. Anyone know if this is a separate consideration for another research group?

[1] http://www.antipope.org/charlie/blog-static/2016/08/san-trom...

[2] http://arxiv.org/pdf/1608.05284v1.pdf

T-A• 10 years ago

Alpha, not beta (beta radiation is just electrons):

Roughly 1% of the ISM consists of helium atoms, and we have a technical term for an ionized helium nucleus travelling at roughly 2% of the speed of light—6000km/sec—we call it an alpha particle.

The article pretty much debunks [1] by concluding that heavier atoms do most damage, but are still manageable.

scrumper2• 10 years ago

Thanks for the correction! Bad memory on my part.

So the article refutes [1] because the relatively easy to manage mechanical effects of those alpha particles on the spacecraft exterior mean that it actually functions as an effective, long-term shield against alpha particles?

Koshkin• 10 years ago

how dangerous

I would think it's just as dangerous as having something traveling at 20% the speed of light relative to you.

posterboy• 10 years ago

The main problem with running into an atom isn't the physical collision but rather the energy deposited in the spacecraft by the impact

Where is the difference? I don't see none except for level of detail.

noselasd• 10 years ago

They mean the physical damage isn't the big issue, but added heat from the collision is - You don't want a spacecraft to accumulate heat - it's hard to get rid of.

TheMagician02• 10 years ago

Another aspect of the project's challenge is funding. While technically plausible in principle to develop such system, the total funding needed is on the order of $5-10 Billion. There is a relevant discussion about this on [Metaculus](http://www.metaculus.com/questions/208/to-the-stars-1-will-t...), for those who are interested.

TheMagician02• 10 years ago

There is actually a "Beam Propulsion Series" on Metaculus(http://www.metaculus.com/questions/#/search/series--beam-pro...) addressing relevant questions about the Starshot Project.

Just how dangerous is it to travel at 20% the speed of light?

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