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In reply to the discussion: Planet Found in Nearest Star System to Earth [View all]muriel_volestrangler
(101,316 posts)ie the Sun, in the solar system, and when the velocities you're talking about are only, say, 100,000mph (about 4.4*10^4 m/s). But an interstellar probe at 0.1c has to go 700 times faster than that, and do it where the energy from the Sun is negligible, so it has to carry that energy with it while it gradually uses it. Even with nuclear fusion in the form of the 'multiple bomb' approach in the posts above, you're looking at limits imposed by the proportion of mass that gets converted to energy - typically less than 1%. The problem is that you have to accelerate your energy source as well as your probe. Even trying this with an ion drive would require constructing a working fusion reactor to power it, but the limits from the weight of fuel still apply.