[meteorite-list] Does Friction or Ram Pressure Cause Meteor Ablation
From: Chris Peterson <clp_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Fri, 18 Nov 2011 11:13:39 -0700 Message-ID: <4EC6A053.20807_at_alumni.caltech.edu> "Friction" is not a great term. But the answer is both... which is dominant depends on the size of the meteoroid with respect to the mean free path between collisions with atmospheric particles. Objects on the order of a centimeter or larger are mainly heated by ram pressure effects. Objects smaller than that are heated by a more complex process involving kinetic energy transfer due to particle collisions- often called friction, but actually rather different from the usual definition of that word. Chris ******************************* Chris L Peterson Cloudbait Observatory http://www.cloudbait.com On 11/18/2011 10:50 AM, JoshuaTreeMuseum wrote: > I know it was discussed awhile back about whether atmospheric friction > or ram pressure causes meteor ablation, but I don't remember if the > science was ever settled. If you Google the question, the overwhelming > majority of hits say it's friction with oxygen, argon and nitrogen > molecules that causes the heat. Even an NAU site says this. Dig a little > deeper and you discover claims that it's a myth, the heat is caused by > ram pressure. So which is it, compressed air or friction? > > I vote for ram pressure. > > ----------------------------- > > Phil Whitmer Received on Fri 18 Nov 2011 01:13:39 PM PST |
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