Title: Bismarck Tribune City: Bismarck, North Dakota Date: Friday, April 02, 1880
Death by Meteors
Mr. Proctor wrote: "I have received several inquiries, some of them rather auxious inquiries, respecting the dangers to be fared from meteoric downfall. If we know the average number of meteoric masses which break their way through the earth's armor - that is, through the "firmament," expanse of ether, pure transparent elemental air - it wold be very easy to calculate the exact chance of dearth by meteoric downfall. As a matter of fact, we have no satisfactory evidence on this point, because ost of the meteorites which fall upon the earth escape attention. I suppose, however, that if Prof. Newtpm, of Yale College, rightly assumes the number of falling stars of all orders to be 400,000,000 yearly, we may fairly assume that about 4,000 meteorites fall annually upon the earth's surface. This allows one meteorite for 100,000 falling stars. Now let us take the total number of human beings at any one time on the earth as 1,500,000,000, Assume the risk of persons within doors equal to that of persons in the open air - for a meteorite falling on a house would not be seriously interrupted in its course, since it would travel with a velocity of several miles per second. Again, remembering that the meteors do not fall vertically, nor, even if they did, do men always stand upright, we must take a larger surface for each person that that which he presents as seen from above when standing. We may take a square ueard for an adult, and perhaps a quarter fo a square yard for the average human being. Now, the earth's surface contains about 200,000,000 square miles, each containing about 3,000,000 square yards - in all 2,400,000,000,000,000 quarter square yards. Thus the chance of a single meteorite striking some one is as fifteen in 24,000,000 or as one in 1,600,000; and if 400 meteorites fall per aunum, the cahnce of one death occurring in any given year is about 1-400th. On the average one death by a meteor strike might be expected to occur in 400 years. If it is true, as I have recently stated, that nine such deaths have occurred in the last 900 years, it would appear probable that 16,000 meteorites, instead of 4,000, annually reach the earth." Please visit, www.MeteoriteArticles.com, a free on-line archive of meteor and meteorite articles. |
