What is the pressure of solar radiation on a mirror surface near the Earth when it normally falls on the mirror? when the radiation falls on the mirror at an angle of 30◦? The energy flux density of solar radiation is 600W m2.
Solution
For a perfect reflector, the radiation pressure on the surface is $p = \dfrac{2I}{c}\cos^2\theta$, where I is the energy flux density, c is the speed of light, and $\theta$ is the angle of incidence measured with respect to the normal.
With $I = 600\ \text{W/m}^2 and c = 3.0\times10^8\ \text{m/s}$