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A new type of propulsion device combining particle beams with lasers has been proposed for a space mission to Proxima b, a planet in the habitable zone of its star, 4 light-years away.
Conventional propulsion systems cannot get a spacecraft to Proxima b. Conventional rockets are out of the question because their fuel is too heavy and burns too quickly for the probe to reach the speeds needed to reach Proxima b. Conventional solar sails also fail because once they are far enough from the sun, only minimal thrust can be applied to them.
Other unconventional solutions could also work, such as nuclear propulsion or ion engines. However, they fall victim to the rocket equation: since they have to carry fuel, they have to carry more mass to go faster, eliminating most of the benefits.
That leaves beam propulsion, which basically creates a giant beam in space that continues to push a spacecraft with a collector attached, which can keep pushing the spacecraft all the way to its destination. There are two types of beams commonly used in these systems: particle beams and light beams. However, each method has a weakness: diffraction.
Both light and particle beams tend to scatter over large distances, making them much less effective at focusing on a single small object that might be light years away. Even lasers, if allowed to point very far away, will eventually scatter into unusable light. There is a way around this, though, and more details are available at: Euronews.
Recently, optics researchers have developed a way to combine laser and particle beams in a way that, when used simultaneously, virtually eliminates diffraction and beam propagation. This will allow the beam propulsion system to continue focusing its beam in the correct location without slowly losing its thrust as the probe moves.
Christopher Limbach, a professor of aerospace engineering at the University of Michigan, has used this foundational technology to develop what he calls PROCSIMA, a novel propulsion approach that uses a combination of coherent particle and laser beam propulsion systems, Universe Today reports.
Traveling at 10% the speed of light for 43 years
Calculations by Limbach and his collaborator Ken Hara, a professor of aeronautics and astronautics at Stanford University, show that this is possible, at least in theory. Creating a coherent beam that can effectively last all the way to Proxima b And it only diffracts about 10 m.
According to their calculations, the 5G detectors being developed by the Breakthrough Initiative could increase the speed of light by up to 10%. This would put it at Proxima b in 43 years..
Additionally, they calculated that a larger probe weighing about 1 kilogram could reach the system in about 57 years. Even if the probe were to travel through the Proxima system at a significant fraction of the speed of light, this would make for a more exciting payload.
There is still work to be done, including developing cold atomic particle sources and improving the capabilities of beam systems.
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