[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

Re: Flight 800 Meteor report

In a message dated 98-02-19 12:57:02 EST, you write:

<<  spark.  I would suggest you ask someone
 familiar with aluminum, what the result would be of an impact of a pea
 sized object, traveling at 30,000 mph at a temperature of say, 4-5000
 degrees F.  The angle at which the object was traveling if and when it
 hit the plane would have no bearing at all on the outcome.  <<

---------
A meteoroid the size of a pea reaching an altitude of about 10,000 feet
wouldn't be traveling much faster than terminal velocity. The air resistance
would slow it down considerably by the time it reaches this altitude. Also I
suspect the temperature of this object at this point in it's trajectory would
be quite cold. The larger the meteoroid, the faster it could be going by the
time it reaches the ground. For a 10 ton object at the moment it hits the
ground, it will be going about 6% cosmic velocity...which is in the
neighborhood of 5,000 mph. Now I know this isn't a 10 ton object...rather pea
size as in the discussion. But I highly doubt it would be traveling very fast
at 10,000 feet up nor is it gonna be very hot...at best warm. Reference is O.
Richard Norton's book Rocks From Space, page 53
George Zay