This new paper has sparked some interest by the mainstream media. I recognize
it's a bit beyond what we'd normally consider the purpose of our forum -- but
then, "amateur" is a relative term that takes its definition largely from the
scope of the particular civilization in which it's defined. And perhaps
there's a civilization out there in which harnessing and focusing energy of a
magnitude 500M greater than that of Sol is the equivalent of making KNSB motors
in the garage.
https://arxiv.org/pdf/1701.01109.pdf
My conclusion is that the authors' equations may well demonstrate that this can
be done, but they offer nothing more than handwaving about how it could be
done. Lacking any details of the engineering, I'll have to leave it in the
category of "then magic happens" for now.
Cheers,
Mark L.
