Radiation Pressure
Radiation exerts pressure because it carries:
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About This Question
- Subject
- physics
- Chapter
- electromagnetic waves
- Topic
- radiation pressure
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Year
- 2025
Solution
Correct Answer:
Momentum
EM waves carry both energy (E) and momentum (p=E/c).
- When waves hit a surface, they transfer this momentum.
- By Newton's second law, the rate of momentum transfer is the Force.
- Force per unit area is Radiation Pressure. This is useable for 'Solar Sails' in space.
This medium difficulty physics question is from the chapter electromagnetic waves, covering the topic of radiation pressure. It appeared in the 2025 exam.
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