Jump to content

The effects of travelling at Mach 25 (Orbital velocity) near the surface.


SunJumper

Recommended Posts

If an object had the power or force necessary to travel at orbital velocity, what would be the effects of the surrounding air, and the surface, and how high would one have to travel at this speed to avoid affecting the ground with the superheated air. To think of the order of magnitudes here, a sphere with 1sqm cross-sectional area at this velocity would be experiencing 18MN of force (10 Mainsails equivalent), and would require about 144GW to combat drag. Clearly anything we know of will vaporize at such energies, I'm just interested in what happens outside.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

More like a perpetual nuke.

In februari 2013, the Chelyabinsk meteor, entered our atmosphere, broke up and exploded, causing a shockwave that shattered all windows in a wide area.

Travelling at orbital speed through atmospheric pressure air requires insane amounts of energy, and the resulting heat due to shock compression will likely radiate enough heat to set everything the object passes by on fire from long distances.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This thread is quite old. Please consider starting a new thread rather than reviving this one.

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...