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From: jay@npois.UUCP (Anton Winteroak)
Newsgroups: net.space
Subject: sail with holes
Message-ID: <221@npois.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 5-Mar-85 09:44:41 EST
Article-I.D.: npois.221
Posted: Tue Mar  5 09:44:41 1985
Date-Received: Sat, 9-Mar-85 06:56:54 EST
Organization: ATTIS, Neptune, NJ
Lines: 11


	The largest atoms are about 0.3 nanometers in diameter, hydrogen
(by far the most common) is about 0.1 nm. About the shortest wavelength
of light that comes out of the sun in quantity is about 90 nanometers.
Besides anything much higher energy than that would go through a micron
of aluminum nearly untouched. Visable light is more like 300 to 700 nanometers.
	Clearly holes under a quarter wave length could work to reduce
weight and drag, while not altering reflectiveness much. I have trouble
imagining the process by which this stuff is made. How could a few square
miles of this stuff be cheap ?