Astrophysicist Matthew Caplan from the University of Illinois (USA) came up with a new type of astro-engineering structure - an artificial object of astronomical proportions. In this case, we are talking about a stellar engine capable of moving the solar system. Writes about this publication Science Alert.
The Kaplan engine is an improved version of the Shkadov engine. The latter is a huge solar sail in the form of a parabolic mirror, located near the star. The radiation from the luminary pushes the mirror, but the huge mass of the sail, which is attracted to the star, compensates for this force, and the engine remains stationary relative to the star. Since the energy will be radiated mainly in one direction, there will be a thrust, and the star will begin to move slowly. However, in this case, the acceleration will be very slow, and in a billion years the speed will reach only 20 kilometers per second.
The Kaplan engine consists of two components: a huge space station and Dyson's swarm - an array of solar panels around a star that concentrate the solar wind in one direction and, thus, move hydrogen and helium from the photosphere to the station. The fusion reactor will create two jet streams at one percent of the speed of light. One of them consists of radioactive oxygen and moves the entire structure forward, while the other, hydrogen, is directed at the star and pushes it away from the station.
Acceleration will be much faster than with the Shkadov engine. In one million years, the Sun could travel 50 light years away. This would help to avoid catastrophic phenomena that are destructive for the solar system, for example, an outbreak of a nearby supernova.
