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Small
Asteroids
Small asteroids ranges from ten meters in diameter
with a mass of 10 9
grams (1,000 metric tons) to a millimeter in
diameter with a mass of one milligram. When they enter the earth's atmosphere,
they are called meteors. Their kinetic energy, mass (density of 2 grams/cm3),
diameters, & matter-antimatter energy are:
Kinetic Energy
(30 km/sec) |
Mass
(grams) |
Diameter
(centimeters) |
Matter-Antimatter Energy |
| 4.5 x 10
21
ergs |
10 9
g (10 3
MT) |
10 3
cm
(10 m) |
9 x 10 29
ergs |
| 4.5 x 10
18
ergs |
10
6
g (MT) |
10 2
cm
(m) |
9 x 10 26
ergs |
| 4.5 x 10
15 ergs |
10 3
g ( kg) |
10 cm |
9 x 10 23
ergs |
| 4.5 x 10
12
ergs |
1 g |
cm |
9 x 10 20
ergs |
|
4.5 x 10 9
ergs |
10 -3
g |
10 -1
cm |
9 x 10 17
ergs |
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The energy released from matter &
antimatter collisions is 200 million times larger than
the Kinetic Energy
of the particles [2 times (Speed of light divided by 30 kilometers/sec) 2
].
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When a small asteroid
has a direct hit with the
nucleus of comet, the
collision resulted in an enormous explosion from the matter-antimatter
energy. Recently, a small asteroid collided with the Comet
LINEAR 1999 S4 and spit the comet into dozens of fragments.
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