At 1:23 AM 2/6/5, thomas malloy wrote: >Now if we can figure out what to do about those pesky volcanos and >the rocks that may be hitting the Sun
About the rocks hitting the sun, I think the first step toward a solution is an early warning system. Below are some relevant past vortex posts. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - At 1:03 PM 3/19/4, Horace Heffner wrote: >Finding and cataloging all earth orbit crossing asteroids and comets is a >difficult to impossible task - impossible because some may come from the >Ort cloud or beyond and thus not have any possibility of being observed for >a periods of a century or more, much less cataloged. If an object >approaches from out that far it likely has not been around for decades, so >is very unlikely to have been cataloged. > >The only solution that has a chance of providing a really high quality >warning system then it seems lies in building a space based radar system. >Such a radar system would have to be very high powered, and would have to >have a multi-directional receiver for long range and an omni-directional >receiver for short range. It would have to operate 24 hours a day in order >to receive bounce signals. It would probably require a comparatively low >noise environment in its bandwidth. > >The subject radar should generate a continuous signal which is continually >tagged with the time and celestial coordinates at which the beam is aimed. [note - it should also be taggged with the transmitting station ID] >In that manner, when a return signal is received, it is possible to tell >the coordinates of and distance to the object at the time of the signal >bounce from the object. In addition, through doppler analysis, it might be >possible to determine at least one component of the velocity as well. It >likely would take multiple radar platforms with significantly differing >orbits in order to achieve full coverage. > >Using such an asteroid radar system, it should be possible to locate and >catalog all nearby earth orbit crossing objects of significant size, and >also to locate dangerous objects incoming from long range in sufficient >time to either employ an asteroid deflecting system (if such is actually >built) or to make the best possible arrangements for earth populations. > >Such a radar base might be manned, but it seems that NASA has recently both >demonstrated the great potential of and the need for robotic maintenance >capabilites. Robots are clearly the main future of space exploration. >Further, space platforms of the future should be designed in a modular >fashion so as to permit robotic maintenance. If Hubble were so designed, >for example, it could now be robot maintained, and its future would not be >in jeapardy. > >Robots go on one way trips. They do not require re-entry vehicles, crew >compartments, air, water, or waste removal. The only thing missing is >sufficient robotic technology, but that is coming fast. It seems to me a >national mission with much more return for the dollar, to the space >program, military, and the economy, than manned missions to the moon and >Mars would be a mission on the order of the 60's space program to develop >robotics and nano-technology. > >Regards, > >Horace Heffner - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - At 9:13 PM 3/20/4, Horace Heffner wrote: >It has been speculated at various times that a cloud or swarm of asteroids >and/or comets exists which tends to all return at once. Such a swarm could >be created by various means. One is that a heavy but fairly dark object, a >dark or small star might periodically traverse or might have at some time >traversed our neighborhood and disrupted the Ort cloud, sending numerous >bodies sunward at the same time. Another hypothesis is that a planet >exploded. In particular, the planet that exploded, or disintegrated due to >a major impact, might have existed between Mars and Jupiter, where the >asteroid belt now lies. In that case debris might be all over the solar >system. However, the more extremely energetic fragments would end up >having orbits with large eccentricities, and long orbital periods. None of >this is new. The swarm has been referred to as the Nemesis Swarm, or >Nemesis Cloud. > >A Nemesis Swarm might explain some extinctions for which no major impact >area has been found. That is because the extinction might have been caused >by many smaller impacts of which there is no obvious geologic record. If >the cloud consists of many small comets, it might even explain Noah's flood >of 40 days and 40 nights, due to the rain of water which would result from >a cloud of small comets burning up in the atmosphere. [Really not in >Kansas any more with that speculation!] > >Of much more interest is the possibility that meteor impacts may play a >role in solar activity, and even sunspots. The motion of the plasma of the >sun is governed by complex differential equations, in a manner somewhat >like terrestrial weather, yet that motion is far more complicated than the >weather due to the system not being merely mechanical, but also >electromagnetic, as well as far more energetic. Therefore asteroid or >comet impact on the sun is a prime candidate to cause the Butterfly Effect, >the effect where a very small perturbation can result in large feedback >cycles that produce large events. The effect is so named because it is >said the flap of a butterfly's wing can be the ultimate cause of a >hurricane. > >It may be possible that a swarm of nearly simultaneous impact events on the >sun, even though not directly upon the earth, could affect the weather for >long periods, and even initiate or change the sunspot cycle frequency. >Such a solar event would produce limited geological evidence of its >existence, and even less of its cause, yet could in fact cause a major >extinction. > >Regards, > >Horace Heffner - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - At 10:39 PM 3/28/4, Horace Heffner wrote: >At 10:16 PM 3/28/4, Grimer wrote: > >>I presume this article would give it - >>if anyone has access to the complete article. >> >>http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?1985Natur.317..338S >> >>Abstract >>A new study is presented of the observational >>evidence pertaining to the theory which attributes >>the episodic component of the earth's impact >>cratering record over the past 600 Myr to >>gravitational encounters between the solar system >>and interstellar clouds that cause comets to fall >>into the solar system and impact the earth. >>Contrary to a claim by Thaddeus and Chanan (1985), >>the vertical scale height of the clouds seems to >>be sufficently small and the sun's vertical >>trajectory sufficiently large for the modulating >>effect of the sun's galactovertical motion to be >>detectable in the terrestrial record of impact >>cratering with at least a 50 percent a priori >>probability. > > >Say, since the earth has a 200 My galactic obrital period, it should cross >the galactic plane in opposite directions once every 50 years, once every >100 My in the same direction. The above premise works a priori with the >commonly accepted major extinctions, on average, so I have to wonder if >this is why they made the prediction. Kind of a self-fulfilling prophesy. >The major extinctions occurred about 6 times in the last 600 million years, >so this is right in average terms. > >Cambrian 570 -500 70 * >Ordovician 500-430 70 * >Silurian 430-395 35 >Devonian 395-345 50 * >Carboniferous 345-280 65 >Permian 280-225 55 * >Triassic 225-195 30 * >Jurassic 195-136 56 >Cretaceous 136-65 79 * >Tertiary 65-present 65 > >* general agreement on extiction > >Tere are essentially 5 events in each of the last two 300 million year >periods (600-300, 300-present). > >If we take only the periods in which it is generally agreed that major >extinction events occurred we get the following pattern: > >Cambrian 570 70 * >Ordovician 500 105 * >Devonian 395 115 * >Permian 280 55 * >Triassic 225 86 * >Cretaceous 136 144* > >In this perspective there are 3 events in each of the last 300 million year >periods, or on average one event every 100 million years. > >The main problem with this theory is the lack of extinctions in the >Pre-Cambian period. That fact leads me to believe a one time perterbation >about 600 million years ago must have started the process. It may be >possible we got gravitationally entangled with a partner Nemesis rock or >cloud that orbits at the same galactic radius but always occupies >approximately the opposing galactic latitude. > >Regards, > >Horace Heffner - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - At 10:57 AM 3/29/4, Horace Heffner wrote: >>I have computed approximately how long it would take the full power of the >>sun to vaporize Planet Earth. I would appreciate if someone would check my >>arithmetic. Various Web sources estimate one to three days. I came up with >>28 hours. Here are the numbers: >> >>Sun's energy: 3.8E26 watts (actually sun's power = 3.87E26 W) >>Mass of Earth: 6E27 grams Fe (assume it is all Fe) >> >>Fe: >>1535 deg C melting point >>2750 deg C boiling point >>13.8 KJ/mol heat of fusion = 247.3 j/g >>349 KJ/mol heat of vaporization = 6232 j/g >>specific heat 0.44 J/g >> >>http://www.webelements.com/webelements/elements/text/Fe/heat.html >> >>1 mol Fe = 56 g >>Assume average starting temperature of the earth 30 deg C. >> >>6500 J/g to vaporize 1 g Fe 6479 j/g >>3.9E31 joules to vaporize earth >> >>102,630 seconds of sun's output = 28.5 hours >> >>This is for the entire output of the sun. I suppose if the Earth stopped >>orbiting and fell into the sun it would only absorb a fraction of the >>output and it would take longer than this to vaporize. That surprises me. >> >>The point is to back up my assertion that energy is the most abundant >>resource in the solar system. Water is the most abundant substance on >>earth. It is ironic that mankind has pretty much stopped fighting wars over >>resources, but the two things we still fight to kill for are energy and >>water. It is a measure of how stupid our governments are. >> >>- Jed > > >The above numbers all look roughly correct to me. The power density of the >sun is amazingly low. > >I should note that if the earth fell into the sun it should vaporize fairly >fast due to its kinetic energy and high internal solar density. Using >1.979E30 kg for mass of sun and 860,000 mi for diameter, or 6.92E8 meters, >I get an escape velocity = sqrt (2Gm/r) = 6.18E5 m/s for the sun. That >gives energy/gram = 0.5*(1 gm)*(v^2)/(1 g) = 1.9E8 J/g, or 190 megajoules >per gram, or about 29000 times the heat required to vaporize the iron. >That's a total collision energy of (1.9E8 J/g)(6E27 g) = 1.14E36 J. The >sun's output is only 3.8E26 J/s. The collision energy is thus 2.9 billion >seconds, or about 91 years of solar heat output. If that kind of energy >were radiated even over the period of a year, due to some earth sized body >hitting the sun, the earth would be a very crispy critter. > >This shows why I suggest that a Nemesis cloud need not produce earth >impacts to produce major extinctions. A sufficient tonnage of solar >impacts would be plenty good enough. They should be capable of generating >large solar flares and thus, if nothing else, momentarily greatly >increasing the solar radiating area. > >Hopefully my computations are correct. (You never know!) 8^) > >Regards, > >Horace Heffner - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - At 11:04 AM 3/29/4, Horace Heffner wrote: >At 11:07 AM 3/29/4, Jones Beene wrote: > >> >>They probably mention that SciFi story (maybe of Arthur Clarke) about >>using thousands of special robots from earth to convert the iron in a >>planet like Mercury into an extremely large thin mirror - and that may be >>doable - but upshifting and cohering that energy into an x-ray laser is >>beyond anything that I can imagine. > >Computations of this kind are based on the exponential growth rates of >economies. If an economy grows at a sustained (compounded) rate, then a >task of any size is eventually, and even amazingly quickly, possible. Once >robots are in the picture (in an economy) the sky is not even the limit. >Tasks like consuming planets to build a device, say a spherical energy >collector and habitable surface around a star, are soon no longer out of >the question. > >Regards, > >Horace Heffner - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - At 6:29 AM 3/30/4, Horace Heffner wrote: >At 2:20 AM 3/30/4, thomas malloy wrote: [snip] >>This discussion reminds me of one that Hugh Hewitt was having monday >>evening with a physicist who had called the show. Hewitt questioned >>the caller about the maximium rate of speed that an astriod could >>have, he said 25,000 mph. The question had to do with John Kerey's >>descent, and which was falling faster, a lead slug or an astroid > > >The max is actually a LOT faster than 25,000 mph, which is rooughly earth's >escape velocity. A comet at our radius from the sun could be carrying >close to escape velocity from the sun at our radius, Ve = sqr(2*G*m/r) = >sqr(2*G*(1.979E30 kg)/(93E6 mi)) = 42 km/s. If it comes in on a retrograde >orbit just right we add the earth's solar orbit velocity, 2*Pi*(93E6 Mi)/yr >= 29.8 km/s, plus earth's escape velocity or about 11.18 km/s, for a total >of 82.3 km/s, or 184,000 mph. A body coming in from outside the solar >system would have no such limit to its speed. > >Regards, > >Horace Heffner Regards, Horace Heffner
