What this work contributes
The authors characterize a microscopic, 50 nm silicon-nitride membrane with compliant supports, reporting radiation-pressure forces of 70 fN with an incident beam intensity of 110 W/cm². Their method jointly studies optical force, heating, incidence angle, beam size, and in-plane motion, supplying an unusually relevant example of how to separate coupled effects experimentally.
Where the evidence stops
The measured object was a constrained laboratory membrane, not a free spacecraft or a macroscopic propulsion system; the result validates photon forces rather than anomalous thrust.
Original source
Lior Michaeli; Ramon Gao; Michael D. Kelzenberg; Claudio U. Hail; Adrien Merkt; John E. Sader; Harry A. Atwater. Direct radiation pressure measurements for lightsail membranes. California Institute of Technology (2025).
Source date: 2025-01-30.
DOI: 10.1038/s41566-024-01605-w
How we use it
This record belongs to Photon momentum. Its evidence label describes the cited work, not the maturity of a Metric Flight device. Follow the original methods, corrections and conditions before transferring a result to a different geometry or scale.
Editorial note reviewed 19 October 2026. AI assisted research discovery and synthesis. Citation metadata and claims were checked against primary publication or institutional records; full-text access varies. Read the source for the complete method.