Control the outgoing light.
Geometry sets where light travels. A tunable material could change that direction electrically.
Start here / Metric Flight
Shape the light.
Measure the motion.
Metric Flight investigates how engineered surfaces can control photon momentum for future spacecraft propulsion and precision control.
Light carries momentum.
Optical forces and beam switching have independent experimental support. Our instrument has not yet been built.
Recover a known push.
Measure a passive mirror first. Introduce graphene only after calibration and thermal controls pass.
The first result we want
An independently calibrated balance recovers the force predicted from a measured external light beam, within a declared uncertainty, after heat, electrical and mechanical alternatives have been bounded. That would establish a useful measurement capability. It would not demonstrate an Alpha 1 field or a flight-ready drive.
Why graphene remains interesting
Published hybrid graphene surfaces can electrically switch outgoing optical power between directions. Our question is whether that control produces a useful, reproducible force change after losses, heat, supports and driver requirements are included. The ten-chapter research journey explains the evidence and the limits.
Where Alpha 1 belongs
Alpha 1 is a separate, unvalidated field hypothesis. A quantitative formulation exists, but its material coupling and comparison with existing constraints remain unresolved. Its new-field hardware branch stays on hold while the conventional measurement program advances.