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DoctorOetker 2 days ago

I wonder if quartz fibers can be used.

In 1887 Boys published this very entertaining article on how he produced long fine wires of quartz, by heating a small thread of glass (and other materials) with a blowpipe, such that it beads, the rod of glass was attached to a tiny dart on a crossbow beforehand, with a foot pedal to release the dart. When he released the dart right when the molten ball formed, the dart would shoot all through the hallway and 2 rooms before meeting a wall. The dart would stick in the wall and a continuous thread was formed between the crossbow and the dart on the end wall (about 90 feet or 30 meters away). When he switched to quartz he immediately observed that quartz took a much larger force, and hence decelerated the dart, so it wouldn't reach the other wall.

I wonder if quartz could be used for matching up Delta v for intercept missions.

Either way the first such probe should be called spiderman...

I cannot do justice for the style and presentation of this article, so you should read it for yourself:

https://zenodo.org/records/1431517/files/article.pdf