I was just going to mention the whole bit about slowing down. Although since the cargo requirement goes as: m_i/m_f ~ e^(2*tanh^-1(v/c)), by only needing the fuel to slow down, you go from needing ~450 times as much fuel, to sqrt(450)~21 times as much fuel as cargo. The bigger issue, though, is still the whole question of how you'd possibly focus and aim a laser over those sorts of distances.
BTW, you might also enjoy today's (rather mathematical) post on how to compute the time dilation of an accelerating ship: http://usersguidetotheuniverse.com/?p=1273
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timeasmymeasure
Re: A few calculations
Date: 2010-10-08 07:50 pm (UTC)m_i/m_f ~ e^(2*tanh^-1(v/c)), by only needing the fuel to slow down, you go from needing ~450 times as much fuel, to sqrt(450)~21 times as much fuel as cargo. The bigger issue, though, is still the whole question of how you'd possibly focus and aim a laser over those sorts of distances.
BTW, you might also enjoy today's (rather mathematical) post on how to compute the time dilation of an accelerating ship:
http://usersguidetotheuniverse.com/?p=1273
Dave