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In this study we considered a solar sail coated with materials that undergo thermal desorption at a specific temperature, as a result of heating by solar radiation at a particular heliocentric distance. Three different scenarios, that only…
Recent research has proposed that advanced propulsion mechanisms such as warp drives are more physically feasible than previously thought, using positive energy sources potentially sourced by known classical physics. Motivated by this, we…
Manipulating and controlling the optical energy flow inside random media is a research frontier of photonics and the basis of novel laser designs. In particular, light amplification in randomly dispersed active inclusions under external…
We outline a method of beamed power for propulsion that utilizes relativistic electron beams. The physics of charged particle beam propagation in the space plasma environment is discussed and the long-range (>100 A.U.) advantage of…
Railguns can convert large quantities of electrical energy into kinetic energy of the projectile. This was demon- strated by the 33 MJ muzzle energy shot performed in 2010 in the framework of the Office of Naval Research (ONR) electromag-…
This article investigates the stability of 'laser sail'-style spacecraft constructed from dielectric metasurfaces with areal densities $<$1g/m$^2$. We show that the microscopic optical forces exerted on a metasurface by a high power laser…
Graphene photonics has emerged as a promising platform for providing desirable optical functionality. However, graphene's monolayer-scale thickness fundamentally restricts the available light matter interaction, posing a critical design…
An ideal proton exchange membrane should only permeate protons and be leak tight for fuels. Graphene is impermeable to water and poorly conducting to protons. Here, we chemically functionalized monolayer graphene to install sulfophenylated…
Large scale directed energy offers the possibility of radical transformation in a variety of areas, including the ability to achieve relativistic flight that will enable the first interstellar missions, as well as rapid interplanetary…
A scheme for fast, compact, and controllable acceleration of heavy particles in vacuum is proposed, in which two counterpropagating lasers with variable frequencies drive a beat-wave structure with variable phase velocity, thus allowing for…
Aerosols appear to be ubiquitous in exoplanetary atmospheres. However because our understanding of the physical processes that govern aerosols is incomplete, their presence makes the measurement of atmospheric properties, such as molecular…
Laser-plasma technology promises a drastic reduction of the size of high energy electron accelerators. It could make free electron lasers available to a broad scientific community, and push further the limits of electron accelerators for…
Two dimensional (2D) layered materials have recently gained renewed interest due to their exotic electronic properties along with high specific surface area. The prospects of exploiting these properties in sensing, catalysis, energy…
Efficient laser ion acceleration requires high laser intensities, which can only be obtained by tightly focusing laser radiation. In the radiation pressure acceleration regime, where the tightly focused laser driver leads to the appearance…
Achieving optimal force sensitivity with nanomechanical resonators requires the ability to resolve their thermal vibrations. In two-dimensional resonators, this can be done by measuring the energy they absorb while vibrating in an optical…
Laser-driven acceleration holds great promise for significantly improving accelerating gradient. However, scaling the conventional process of structure-based acceleration in vacuum down to optical wavelengths requires a substantially…
The properties of suspended graphene are currently attracting enormous interest, but the small size of available samples and the difficulties in making them severely restrict the number of experimental techniques that can be used to study…
Interstellar transport is an object of interest in many sci-fi stories. In history a lot of sci-fi predictions have turned into reality, such as communications satellites, deep-sea submarines and journies to the moon. In this work we study…
Electronic textiles (e-textiles) are about to face tremendous environmental and resource challenges due to the complexity of sorting, the risk to supplies and metal contamination in textile recycling streams. This is because e-textiles are…
We study the drag force on dust grains moving at relativistic velocities through interstellar gas and explore its application. First, we derive a new analytical formula of the drag force at high energies and find that it is significantly…