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Originally posted by Slugsie
It's also the basis behind which Solar Sails are supposed to work. 
Yep, the reflective nature of the sails is key. As photons bounce off the reflective material, they gently push the sail along by transferring momentum to the sail. Because there are so many photons from sunlight, and because they are constantly hitting the sail, there is a constant pressure exerted on the sail that produces a constant acceleration of the spacecraft. Although the force on a solar-sail spacecraft is less than a conventional chemical rocket, the solar-sail spacecraft constantly accelerates over time and achieves a greater velocity.
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