Theory
It may be shown by electromagnetic theory, by quantum theory, or by thermodynamics, making no assumptions as to the nature of the radiation, that the pressure against a surface exposed in a space traversed by radiation uniformly in all directions is equal to one third of the total radiant energy per unit volume within that space.
Quantitatively, this can be expressed as
,
for a radiation energy density, at a temperature . Here, the radiation constant, where is the Stefan-Boltzmann constant, and is the speed of light.
Read more about this topic: Radiation Pressure
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“A theory if you hold it hard enough
And long enough gets rated as a creed....”
—Robert Frost (18741963)
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—Tom Wolfe (b. 1931)
“The human species, according to the best theory I can form of it, is composed of two distinct races, the men who borrow and the men who lend.”
—Charles Lamb (17751834)