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On May 20, the Planetary Society will launch a tiny "citizen-funded" satellite that will test the unfolding of a 32 m2 (344 ft2) solar sail. A solar sail uses radiation pressure from the Sun over a large surface area to propel a spacecraft. IKAROS was the first spacecraft to successfully demonstrate the technology in space. While this month's mission is simply a test of the sail deployment, the main mission, LightSail-1, will launch high enough to actually test the sail as a means of propulsion:
LightSail-1's goal is to test if solar sails are a viable form of space transport. The theory will be tested by measuring if there is any increase in LightSail-1's orbital speed once the spacecraft is released at an altitude of 500 miles (800 km). The Planetary Society originally hoped to launch LightSail-1 in 2012, but in 2014 announced that it is scheduled for launch in April 2016.
An initial test launch of the LightSail spacecraft is scheduled for May 2015. This launch will deliver the satellite to an orbit low enough that atmospheric drag exceeds the thrust available from the light sail, but will allow a full checkout of the satellite's systems in advance of the main 2016 mission.
If LightSail-1 is successful, then the Planetary Society will execute two more solar sail projects with more complex goals. LightSail-2's goal will be to collect scientific data and improve solar sailing control. LightSail-3's goal would be to travel to the L1 Lagrangian point. There, it would be used to detect geomagnetic storms on the Sun, which can damage power and communication systems on Earth and orbiting spacecraft. Such detection will provide earlier warnings of potential power failures.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday May 10 2015, @08:53PM
So, the linked Wipipedia page insists that m2 is "square meters" (as does the "disambiguation" page). [wikipedia.org]
Neither page, however, specifies how to abbreviate "meters squared".
Perhaps you could supply that information.
-- gewg_
(Score: 2) by takyon on Monday May 11 2015, @01:42AM
http://mathforum.org/library/drmath/view/57209.html [mathforum.org]
They both mean the same thing.
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(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 11 2015, @04:32AM
No. They don't.
If you're talking about ONE SPECIFIC CASE, -then- it is true:
something 1 meter squared.
Something that is 32 meters squared has sides that are 32 meters in length.
No wonder you keep insisting you are right and I am wrong:
You don't understand English.
-- gewg_
(Score: 2) by takyon on Monday May 11 2015, @05:15AM
I give you a C+ in English.
And there is nothing wrong with "32 m2 (344 ft2)".
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(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 11 2015, @03:10PM
It's really simple to express the concept you're trying for:
(32 m)2 or (32 m)^2
Which is read aloud as "thirty-two meters, quantity squared", "the square of thirty-two meters", or some such nonambiguous formulation.
You see, when written as a formula, there is no ambiguity -- standard order of operation we all know from algebra applies; in the absence of parentheses, exponentiation (i.e. m2 or m^2) takes place before multiplication (i.e. 32 m).
When spoken verbally, however, "thirty-two meters squared" is ambiguous -- so the English-speaking technical community (scientists, engineers, and what-not) have collectively settled on (1) generally prefering not to use that formulation and (2) if that formulation is encountered, interpreting it as equivalent to "32 square meters".
(Regarding who understands English how well... Suppose you're right, and this consensus of the English-speaking technical community in fact results from them not understanding English as well as --gewg_. Is it then more useful to defend correct English, or to be able to communicate without misunderstandings?)