[meteorite-list] Space station moves to avoid debris

From: lebofsky at lpl.arizona.edu <lebofsky_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Sun, 4 Feb 2007 05:14:24 -0700 (MST)
Message-ID: <4457.71.226.112.144.1170591264.squirrel_at_timber.lpl.arizona.edu>

Hi Sterling:

I am not a munitions expert, but I think it would be more appropriate to
compare the meteoroid with a speeding bullet. The TNT energy is released
in all directions while a bullet's (or meteoroid's) energy is directional
(at the target). I have seen what the window of the Shuttle looks like
after it has been hit by a paintflake. It looked like a beebee gun had
been using the window for target practice.:

http://www.biblehelp.org/ufo4.htm

Larry

On Sat, February 3, 2007 5:55 pm, Sterling K. Webb wrote:
> Hi, Rob, Darren, List,
>
>
> One gram traveling at 1000 m/sec, when stopped
> abruptly, releases its kinetic energy, which is 1000 joules [kg x (m/s)^2].
> The combustion energy of
> TNT is 4600 joules per gram, so that energy release
> is the equivalent is 217 milligrams of TNT. Doesn't sound like that much,
> does it?
>
> In the USA, the legal limit for fireworks is 50
> milligrams of pyrotechnic material. [Code of Federal Regulations, Title 16,
> Volume 2, Section 1500.85].
> This is the traditional M-50, or perhaps the "cherry
> bomb." Since pyrotechnics are weaker than TNT, imagine four to eight
> "cherry bombs" concentrated
> on one tiny spot...
>
> Of course, today's "cherry bombs" are not as
> good as yesterday's (pre-regulation) "cherry bombs," but as a child, I
> fractured the brass casing (3" x 12") of a shell for 37mm anti-aircraft
> cannon with ONE "cherry bomb." No better fun for an nine-year-old
> than a bagful of small high explosives and a bunch of old cannon shells, is
> there?
>
> How thick are the walls of your space station?
> Your space suit? Your visor? That hose you're
> breathing through? Or any of the thousands of things you need to stay
> alive?
>
> If that gram is coming in from beyond the
> Earth's gravity, you could close on it at almost
> 20 km/sec, the equivalent is about 85 grams of
> TNT. Disastrous.
>
>
> If the orbit of a piece of rubble is not oriented
> with your orbit, but at an angle to it, you and the object are "crossing"
> at some vector product of your velocities. This is the most serious and
> likely hazard.
>
> If you were in an equatorial orbit and the rubble
> was in a polar orbit and you had a geometrically "perfect" collision, the
> impact velocity would be 1.414 times the orbital velocity, with each gram
> carrying the equivalent of 27.3 grams of TNT in kinetic energy. Known in
> the trade as the Chop Suey Special.
>
>
>
> Sterling K. Webb
> -------------------------------------------------------------
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Rob McCafferty" <rob_mccafferty at yahoo.com>
> To: "Gerald Flaherty" <grf2 at verizon.net>;
> <meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com>
> Sent: Saturday, February 03, 2007 2:16 PM
> Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] Space station moves to avoid debris
>
>
>
>
> --- Gerald Flaherty <grf2 at verizon.net> wrote:
>
>
> but a centimeter sized particle traveling at
>> those speeds?? Help.
>> Jerry Flaherty
>>
>
> What Darren said is how I understand it too. As for
> 1cm particles, nah This shield is designed to protect
> against micrometeorids travelling at a relative speed of 20km/s. It'll not
> protect you from big stuff though I suppose the relative speeds of orbital
> debris is likely travelling much slower.
>
> Even so, wouldn't fancy their chances against a pea
> sized bit of weather sat even if it ONLY had a collision speed of 1000m/s
>
> Rob McC
>
>
>
>
> ______________________________________________
> Meteorite-list mailing list
> Meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com
> http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
>
>
Received on Sun 04 Feb 2007 07:14:24 AM PST