I am puzzled by how a radiometer works. ...
Joseph Gress
Beware: this is from memory and unchecked.
Crookes's nose was put quite out of joint when Maxwell
was used as a referee for a paper Crookes offered to the
Roy Soc or somesuch. Maxwell forthwith rushed into print
with a critique before ever Crookes's piece appeared.
But at any rate: photon pressure is very much smaller than the
thermal engine effect which persists even to quite low pressures.
It is not just a case of the black side providing faster
thermal molecules, but rather , it seems, a consequence of edge
effects between the warm side and the cool sides of the mica vanes.
Regards
brian whatcott <inet@intellisys.net>
Altus OK