macleod@drivax.UUCP (MacLeod) (11/19/88)
In article <1271@cfa.cfa.harvard.EDU> wyatt@cfa.harvard.EDU (Bill Wyatt) writes:
:Both arguments are correct, really. Think of the problem in terms of
:momentum. Since simply breaking up debris into smaller particles means
:each one has a smaller momentum (mv), they should do less damage
:hitting anything. A particle already in orbit can only lose momentum
:as the orbit decays.
:
:However, Henry is right for practical reasons. You would have to
:convert *every bit* of debris into almost microscopic particles before
:you would no longer have to worry about them. Remember the paint chip
:that hit the shuttle window? If you have some really delicate
:satellites (e.g. exposed mirrors or reflecting mylar sheets), then even
:microscopic debris is probably a no-no.
Imagine a big cloud of nonreflective microsopic particles. A shuttle or
other craft flys in, and *poof* their glass optical ports become opaque, and
the skin gets microbeadblasted.
How small does a missle have to be before it packs too little mass to be
dangerous in a collision, given local speed limits (sun's escape velocity)?
Michael Sloan MacLeod (amdahl!drivax!macleod)