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PHYSICS / ELECTROMAGNETIC MOMENTUM

Radiation Pressure Calculator

Calculate normal radiation pressure from incident intensity and an ideal surface momentum factor.

  • 01 Calculated in this tab
  • 02 Values stay in this browser tab
  • 03 Use boundary

Conversion input

Known value

Filter by unit name, symbol, or code. Your current selections remain available.

Preparing the calculator...

METHOD / WORKED EXAMPLE

Understand Radiation Pressure

Calculate normal radiation pressure from incident intensity and an ideal surface momentum factor. Inputs remain visible so the physical model and units can be checked instead of treated as a black box.

WORKED DEFAULT

Check the calculation with the default inputs

At 1,000 W/m², ideal absorption produces about 3.336 µPa; ideal reflection doubles that value.

  1. Read the measured inputsI, q
  2. Apply the physical modelp = qI/c, where q = 1 absorbing and q = 2 ideally reflecting.
  3. Check domain and unitsRadiation is normally incident and the surface is represented as perfectly absorbing or specularly reflecting.

READ THE RESULT

Interpret the output in context

The pressure is momentum flux normal to the ideal surface, not thermal pressure or total force without an illuminated area.

ASSUMPTIONS AND LIMITS

Know where the model stops

  • Intensity is the normal incident component.
  • The entered factor matches one of the two ideal surface limits.

Radiation is normally incident and the surface is represented as perfectly absorbing or specularly reflecting.

Use internally consistent units and retain extra precision when carrying the result into another calculation.

COMMON QUESTIONS

Radiation Pressure Calculator FAQs

Which model does Radiation Pressure Calculator use?

Multiply normal incident intensity by the selected ideal momentum factor and divide by light speed. Partial reflection and absorption require a measured momentum-transfer model between these bounds. The calculator evaluates only the stated idealized equation and supplied values. It does not infer missing conditions, choose an experimental convention, or certify a measurement. Keep every quantity in the displayed unit and verify the model against the physical setup before relying on the result.

How should I interpret the Radiation Pressure Calculator result?

The pressure is momentum flux normal to the ideal surface, not thermal pressure or total force without an illuminated area. Multiplying pressure by a suitable projected area gives force only under uniform normal illumination. Numerical precision does not imply experimental accuracy. Compare the output with scale, sign, limiting cases, and an independent source, then account for uncertainty in measured inputs and constants before using it in laboratory, engineering, or safety-sensitive work.

What is outside the scope of Radiation Pressure Calculator?

Radiation is normally incident and the surface is represented as perfectly absorbing or specularly reflecting. It excludes oblique incidence, transmission, scattering, beam profiles, heating, material deformation, and relativistic motion. The result is educational and is not a simulation, calibration, engineering approval, or safety determination. More complete models may require geometry, material response, boundary conditions, relativistic frames, dispersion, losses, uncertainty propagation, or numerical field solutions not represented by these inputs.

Use boundary

Calculation path

Multiply normal incident intensity by the selected ideal momentum factor and divide by light speed. The page evaluates the displayed equation from your supplied values and presents both symbolic and substituted KaTeX working so the arithmetic can be checked.

Calculation path

p = qI/c, where q = 1 absorbing and q = 2 ideally reflecting.