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" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: "Gerald Flaherty" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; > <meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com> > Sent: Saturday, February 03, 2007 2:16 PM > Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] Space station moves to avoid debris > > > > > --- Gerald Flaherty <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> 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@meteoritecentral.com > http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list > > ______________________________________________ Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list