Gaby
A rocket powered by conventional chemical fuel, which currently launches our satellites into orbit around the Earth, would need to weigh as much as the Moon to reach the nearest star, Alpha Centauri. In that scenario, only a speck of dust would make it to the star.
On the other hand, a light engine, known as a photon engine, would consume just one kilogram of fuel per second. Science has proven that a photon engine is more suitable for interplanetary travel than a traditional rocket. But how can we envision a flight powered by a beam of light?
We can illustrate this concept schematically. Every particle has a counterpart—an antiparticle. For example, the electron has a positively charged counterpart called a positron. When particles and antiparticles collide, they annihilate each other, transforming into light. If we could fill one chamber with particles and another with their counterparts—antiparticles—and then mix portions of both in a third chamber, they would create a light beam powerful enough to propel even the heaviest interplanetary express deep into space.
