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re: (meteorobs) Meteorites killing cars
Perhaps the meteorite falls at a very small angle, like 1-5 degrees,
and it bounces off the road and hits the fuel tank and you may have a
dead car.
Jonathan
Sorry Jonathan, a several pound object falling from above 10 km (remember,
it has lost all it's incomong speed and is free falling, or else it would
cause a much more noticable reaction) will be falling straight down. For an
object to hit at 1 to 5 degrees it's velocity would have to be in excess of
100 km per second...even meteors at the solar system member maximum speed
of 72 kps have their paths measurably shifted by gravity, leading to what
is called zenith attraction. So 1 to 5 degrees....no can do.If it were
moving at 100 kps with mass of a kilogram or two, much more than the car
would catch on fire...likely the whole town. besides, at that speed and
size it would not reach the ground intact...instead it would be disrupted
in the atmosphere causing an air burst.
WayneO
wayne