Quick: what’s the most successful, stable, one-design dinghy class in world history? Answer: the Laser, of course, now rolling past 200,000 boats worldwide. In fact, in celebration of this milestone, ...

The stability of a light sail riding on a laser beam is analyzed both analytically and numerically. Conical sails on Gaussian beams, which have been studied in the past, are shown to be unstable in ...