[Prev][Next][Index][Thread]
Re: (meteorobs) How much energy does a meteor emit?
And here's a follow up with yet another "wowie" fact along the same lines! :)
Note that NEITHER Roy nor Alan are currently on our 'meteorobs' list...
Clear skies,
Lew Gramer
------- Forwarded Message
Date: Wed, 28 Oct 1998 15:54:18 +0000
To: Roy Tucker <tucker@noaodot edu>
From: "Alan W. Harris" <awharris@lithos.jpl.nasadot gov>
Subject: Re: Halley's Comet Returns In Bits And Pieces
Cc: mplist@bitnik.com
At 04:09 PM 10/28/98 -0700, Roy Tucker wrote:
> The thought crossed my mind that some folks might not have a good
>feeling for how much energy 8,000 joules is. This little ten milligram dust
>grain moving at 40 kilometers per second has enough energy to lift one
>metric ton a distance of about 0.8 meters or about 32 inches.
Perhaps a more relevant comparison is to note that one watt is a joule per
second. So 8,000 joules is like an 8 KW light for one second, or an 80 KW
light for 0.1 second. A typical meteor going that speed flashes for only a
few tenths of a second, so its peak luminosity would be like a ~20 KW
light. Pretty easy to see from quite a distance, in a dark sky. There is
a factor of "luminous efficiency" to consider, but that is about the same
for a meteor as for an incandescent lightbulb, so the comparison to a 20 KW
light bulb is probably not bad. I have to confess I've never seen a 20 KW
lightbulb for sale, but I expect it would really light up your living room
if you could find one.
Cheers,
Alan Harris
------- End of Forwarded Message
To UNSUBSCRIBE from the 'meteorobs' email list, use the Web form at:
http://www.tiacdot net/users/lewkaren/meteorobs/subscribe.html