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RIT Professor to Develop Diffractive Solar Sails

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A new approach to solar sail design using diffractive optics could enable spacecraft to photograph the poles of the sun for the first time. Over the next two years, Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) professor Grover Swartzlander will explore the feasibility of diffractive solar sails for propelling spacecraft. He has received a Phase II award through NASA’s Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) program to support his research. RIT professor Grover Swartzlander discussed his work on diffractive solar sails at the NASA Inventive Genius lecture series at the Chicago Museum...Read full article

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    Published: April 2019
    Glossary
    diffractive optics
    Optical elements that use diffraction to control wavefronts. Diffractive optical elements include diffraction gratings, surface-relief diffractive lenses, holographic optical elements and computer-generated holograms. Fabrication methods include diamond machining, interference of coherent beams (holography), injection molding and advanced microlithographic techniques. See also binary optics; holographic optical element.
    astronomy
    The scientific observation of celestial radiation that has reached the vicinity of Earth, and the interpretation of these observations to determine the characteristics of the extraterrestrial bodies and phenomena that have emitted the radiation.
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