[meteorite-list] Meteoroid/Asteroid Electro-Magnetic Disruption and Charge Properties?

From: drtanuki <drtanuki_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Wed, 27 Feb 2013 10:36:35 -0800 (PST)
Message-ID: <1361990195.49983.YahooMailClassic_at_web141401.mail.bf1.yahoo.com>

Chris and all,
  I will refine my questions a bit regarding the Russian asteroid (meteoroid) body:

Could resonance (differential-harmonics) within the body cause disintegration?

Can we expect to see an Earth-ground electrical discharge towards the meteoroid? Is it possible?

And could differential electrical charges on the leading and trailing part of the body cause internal disruption leading to disintegration?

Thank you. Forgive me if my questions are poorly based or asked.

Dirk Ross...Tokyo

--- On Thu, 2/28/13, Chris Peterson <clp at alumni.caltech.edu> wrote:

> From: Chris Peterson <clp at alumni.caltech.edu>
> Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] Meteoroid/Asteroid Electro-Magnetic Disruption and Charge Properties?
> To: meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com
> Date: Thursday, February 28, 2013, 1:21 AM
> A body larger than about a centimeter
> transfers its kinetic energy to other forms primarily by
> compressing the air in front of it as it descends into the
> atmosphere. The pressure involved is typically very large-
> tens or hundreds of megapascals for meter-class bodies. Once
> this ram pressure exceeds the material strength of the body,
> it breaks apart (presumably along existing fault lines, so
> the material properties of the body are important- and
> generally unknown).
>
> Before the breakup, the heat created by compressing air is
> melting the surface of the meteoroid, resulting in ablation.
> This ablation is responsible for some of the light we see
> (along with atmospheric ionization from the same heat
> source), but is not particularly disruptive to the
> meteoroid. Only the outer surface is affected. Ablation is a
> very efficient way of removing energy (which is why
> spacecraft heat shields prior to the shuttles were
> ablative). When the meteoroid fragments at hypersonic
> speeds, however, additional surface area is instantly
> exposed, resulting in a rapid heating of the surrounding air
> (which is just a fancy way of saying "explosion"). If a body
> breaks into just a few pieces, as is common, we may see a
> central or terminal brightening. If it completely shatters
> into thousands of pieces (as seems likely with Chelyabinsk)
> the energy from the suddenly heated air is immense- an
> efficient conversion of kinetic energy to thermal energy.
> The expanding hot air can produce an impressive sonic wave,
> and probably further disrupts the meteoroid itself.
>
> I don't that there are any electrical forces of a
> significant size to affect the structure or motion of the
> meteoroid, although atmospheric electrical effects probably
> occur (e.g. electrophonics).
>
> Chris
>
> *******************************
> Chris L Peterson
> Cloudbait Observatory
> http://www.cloudbait.com
>
> On 2/26/2013 11:59 PM, drtanuki wrote:
> > Dear List,
> > If there is anyone willing to discuss the how and why
> meteoroids/asteroids "detonate" please explain for the list
> and myself.? I am interested learning more about the
> electrical/mechanical/physical forces that these bodies
> undergo as they reach the earth such as in the latest
> Russian event. Thank you.
> > Dirk Ross...Tokyo
>
> ______________________________________________
>
> Visit the Archives at http://www.meteorite-list-archives.com
> Meteorite-list mailing list
> Meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com
> http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
>
Received on Wed 27 Feb 2013 01:36:35 PM PST