Keep a passive reference
A passive dielectric pattern provides an important control because it can redirect light without graphene gate electronics. Its performance still depends on material, geometry and wavelength. We would measure both architectures under the same incident beam, so any claimed advantage comes from comparable data rather than unrelated headline figures.
Judge the whole stack
For the graphene hybrid, include the membrane, reflector, dielectric, graphene, contacts, wiring and driver. For the passive surface, include any mechanism needed to achieve the same control task. Compare matched system requirements; a fixed passive sample and an electronically steerable sample do not offer identical functions.
Use four decision quantities
Measure force or torque per incident watt, useful control range, absorbed heat and total moving mass. Then assess stability, bandwidth, repeatability and fabrication yield. A single efficiency percentage does not combine these tradeoffs. The application determines which quantities matter most and what failure means.
Do not mix material forms
A porous graphene aerogel is a thermal and gas-interaction candidate; a suspended monolayer is an ultrathin optical membrane; a gated hybrid is an active electromagnetic surface. A high conductivity or strength value from one form should not be transferred to another. Each sample needs its own characterization.
The current choice
Metric Flight’s proposed first graphene direction is a gated hybrid surface evaluated beside a passive reference. It earns continuation only if the measured control benefit is large enough to justify its losses and hardware. This is a research preference, not a claim that graphene is already the best sail material.