wyatt@cfa.harvard.EDU (Bill Wyatt) (11/16/88)
In article <1084@esunix.UUCP>, bpendlet@esunix.UUCP (Bob Pendleton) writes: > [...] > From article <1988Nov11.213348.27877@utzoo.uucp>, by henry@utzoo.uucp (Henry Spencer): > > [...] > > Breaking the existing > > debris up into smaller bits is the *last* thing we want to do. > > Not really. Even a fairly heavy rain of microscopic particles can be > stopped more easily than one large chunk. 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. -- Bill UUCP: {husc6,cmcl2,mit-eddie}!harvard!cfa!wyatt Wyatt ARPA: wyatt@cfa.harvard.edu (or) wyatt%cfa@harvard.harvard.edu BITNET: wyatt@cfa2 SPAN: cfairt::wyatt