Answer:
Acceleration of the asteroid relative to the spacecraft = 2ε
A/m
Step-by-step explanation:
The maximum electric field in the beam = 2E
cross-sectional area of beam = A
The intensity of an electromagnetic wave with electric field is
I = cε
/2
for
= 2E
I = 2cε
....equ 1
where
I is the intensity
c is the speed of light
ε is the permeability of free space
is electric field
Radiation pressure of an electromagnetic wave on an absorbing surface is given as
P = I/c
substituting for I from above equ 1. we have
P = 2cε
/c = 2ε
....equ 2
Also, pressure P = F/A
therefore,
F = PA ....equ 3
where
F is the force
P is pressure
A is cross-sectional area
substitute equ 2 into equ 3, we have
F = 2ε
A
force on a body = mass x acceleration.
that is
F = ma
therefore,
a = F/m
acceleration of the asteroid will then be
a = 2ε
A/m
where m is the mass of the asteroid.