Incident radiation flux → Mechanical work

Matrix context

D = disequilibrium row · C = coupling family column. A cell reads the state of the atlas for that pair.

D.11 × C.32 · Incident radiation flux × Photon momentumfamily: Photon momentum

Typed bounds on this route

Every limit the atlas holds for this route, as constraint records: reached through bounded_by claims on the route's own entities. Hard bounds (an upper bound or a formula) decide the thermodynamic-bound check above; benchmarks, constitutive relations and resource limits are listed and never decisive. No prose limit exists anywhere (pass 42).

• Radiation momentum flux · resource-bound · listed, never decisive
  p = I/c for full absorption, p ≤ 2I/c for perfect reflection at normal incidence; the mechanical power a moving surface can take from the pressure is at most p·v per unit area

Steps

1. 01
   Incident radiation flux —drives→ Radiation pressureestablishedclaim record

   radiative → mechanical

   • radiation absorbed or reflected by a surface; force per unit area I/c absorbed, 2I/c reflected at normal incidence — about 9 µPa in full sunlight
   • mechanical work requires displacement or deformation under the radiation-pressure force; absorbed optical power may additionally thermalise, perfect reflection dissipates nothing

   Solar sails (IKAROS 2010, LightSail 2 2019) convert this momentum flux into spacecraft kinetic energy in flight.

   refs [1] [2] [3]
2. 02
   Radiation pressure —produces→ Mechanical motionestablishedclaim record

   mechanical → mechanical

   • the illuminated body is mechanically free or compliant enough to move or deform under the radiation-pressure force

   refs [2]
3. 03
   Mechanical motion —converts into→ Mechanical workestablishedclaim record

   mechanical → mechanical · loss to thermal

   refs [4]

Evidence for the complete composition · 0

No source on record for this exact composition. The sources below support the individual steps, not the route as a whole.

Evidence for the constituent relations · 4

1. [1]
   E. F. Nichols, G. F. Hull. A Preliminary Communication on the Pressure of Heat and Light Radiation (1901)

   Physical Review (Series I) 13, 307-320 · doi:10.1103/PhysRevSeriesI.13.307 · crossref ✓ 2026-09-20 · record
2. [2]
   A. C. Trowbridge, E. M. Wright, K. Dholakia. Radiation pressure revisited: historical context and the role of structured light (2025)

   Journal of Optics 27, 075402 · doi:10.1088/2040-8986/ade8fb · crossref ✓ 2026-09-20 · record
3. [3]
   L. D. Landau, E. M. Lifshitz, L. P. Pitaevskii. Electrodynamics of Continuous Media (Course of Theoretical Physics, Vol. 8, 2nd ed.) (1984)

   Pergamon · book, no DOI · record
4. [4]
   A. Bejan. Advanced Engineering Thermodynamics (4th ed.) (2016)

   Wiley · doi:10.1002/9781119245964 · crossref ✓ 2026-09-19 · record