A giant parabolic mirror covering one hemisphere of the Sun will reflect the Sun's radiation, causing all of it to be emitted in the opposite hemisphere, resulting in a net force on the solar system (this was suggested by Russian physicist Leonid Shkadov in 1987 and is called a Shkadov Thruster). What is the resulting acceleration of the solar system and how much time will it take us to reach the next star system? Assume the distance from the mirror to the Sun does not change.
How thick should we make the mirror for Shkadov Thruster and where should we place it so that the radiation pressure from the Sun exactly balances the gravitational attraction? How strong does the mirror need to be?
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