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
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