Starship Asterisk*

Stendec wrote:Apparently the folks in Chelyabinsk are quite fortunate that the meteor did not explode at an altitude lower than 12 - 18 miles (20 - 30 Kilometers). The explosive force of 500 kilotons is very much more powerful than the bombs which fell on Hiroshima (16 kilotons) and Nagasaki (21 kilotons) - - 31.25 times and 23.81 times more powerful, respectively. The bombs exploded less than half a mile above the ground (Hiroshima - detonation height about 1,968 feet; Nagasaki - detonation height about 1,539 feet). For comparison, look at the before and after pictures of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and then do some mental extrapolation: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atomic_bom ... d_Nagasaki
:!:

Chris Peterson wrote:
I suspect that thousands of people around Chelyabinsk have died from diseases related to the sloppy handling of radioactive materials, yet a few people in the hospital for glass cuts is what makes the big headlines. But that's the way things work, I guess.

• The meteor might have driven a lot of Chelyabinskians to drink, however.

  

  Click to view full size image

SJoe wrote:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LoDcjs6q4c8

Russian Reaction To Meteorite

neufer wrote:

SJoe wrote:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LoDcjs6q4c8

Russian Reaction To Meteorite

Click to play embedded YouTube video.

Ann wrote:
Once when I was out jogging (back when I used to do that kind of thing) I ran straight into a moose, almost. Well, there was still about five meters between me and the moose, I guess. My first reaction was: I've run straight into the shooting of a wildlife TV show! Where's the impressive music?"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moose wrote:

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<<The moose or Eurasian elk (Europe) (Alces alces) is the largest extant species in the deer family. Like any wild animal, moose are unpredictable and should be given a respectful amount of space. They are most likely to attack if annoyed or harassed, or if their "personal space" has been encroached upon. Moose that have been harassed may vent their anger on unwary victims, and often do not make distinctions between their tormentors and innocent passers-by. Moose are very limber animals with highly flexible joints and sharp, pointed hooves, and are capable of kicking with both front and back legs. Unlike other large, hooved mammals, such as horses, moose can kick in all directions including sideways. Therefore, there is no safe side from which to approach. However, moose often give warning signs prior to attacking, displaying their aggression by means of body language. The maintaining of eye contact is usually the first sign of aggression, while laid-back ears or a lowered head is a definite sign of agitation. If the hairs on the back of the moose's neck and shoulders (hackles) stand up, a charge is usually imminent.>>

flamencoprof wrote:May I suggest that "500 kilotons of energy " should read "energy equivalent to 500 kilotons of TNT"?

-is wrote:

flamencoprof wrote:May I suggest that "500 kilotons of energy " should read "energy equivalent to 500 kilotons of TNT"?

Exactly.

Chris Peterson wrote:
A unit of energy equal to 4.184 x 10¹² joules is called a kiloton of TNT, and is formally abbreviated "kt" and almost always simply referenced as "kiloton" whenever the context makes it clear that energy is under discussion.

It is not generally necessary to qualify the unit with a reference to TNT.

neufer wrote:

Chris Peterson wrote:
A unit of energy equal to 4.184 x 10¹² joules is called a kiloton of TNT, and is formally abbreviated "kt" and almost always simply referenced as "kiloton" whenever the context makes it clear that energy is under discussion.

It is not generally necessary to qualify the unit with a reference to TNT.

So why can't they list the calorie count of desserts in "energy units"

Dietary calorie or food calorie = 4.184 kilojoules = a gram of TNT = a nano unit of energy

MargaritaMc wrote:

neufer wrote:
Dietary calorie or food calorie = 4.184 kilojoules = a gram of TNT = a nano unit of energy

A food calorie is a kilo-calorie, according to the bible (slimming world)

Does that mean that, on my 1500 kilo-calorie per day regime, I consume the energy equivalent of 1.5kg of TNT?

http://asterisk.apod.com/viewtopic.php? ... 05#p193992

MargaritaMc wrote:Does that mean that, on my 1500 kilo-calorie per day regime, I consume the energy equivalent of 1.5kg of TNT?

Was the Chelyabinsk Fireball Related to the Close Approach of Asteroid 2012 DA14?

Asteroid 2012 DA14 made a very close flyby of the Earth just over 16 hours after the Russian fireball event, passing within 27,700 km (17,200 miles) of the Earth's surface, but there is no connection whatever between these two events. First of all, the two objects approached the Earth from completely different directions, and had entirely different orbits about the Sun. A custom version of the JPL orbit display applet has been created to show the orbits of the Chelyabinsk impactor and 2012 DA14 at the same time:

http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/orbits/2012da14.html

A second reason we know the two asteroids approaching Earth on Feb. 15 were unrelated is their disparate compositions. Telescopic spectral data do not support any physical connection between asteroid 2012 DA14 and Chelyabinsk meteorites. Nicholas Moskovitz and Richard Binzel (MIT) report 2012 DA14 displays spectral colors which suggest a carbon dominated composition similar to CO or CV carbonaceous chondrite meteorites with abundant calcium- and aluminum-rich inclusions. On the other hand, meteorite fragments being recovered from the fireball event are reported as silicate-rich ordinary chondrites; a completely different and unrelated class of meteorites. About 80% of all meteorite falls are in the ordinary chondrite category.