Effects of large kinetic strikes?

21 posts • Page 1 of 3 • 1, 2, 3

Effects of large kinetic strikes?
by ericth » Wed Nov 05, 2014 5:28 pm
ericth Commander Posts: 223 Joined: Tue Jul 13, 2010 10:35 pm Location: USA	I was thinking recently about an old video I watched of an atmospheric nuke test where the building started to burn from the thermal pulse before the shock wave hit. That got me thinking about how the characteristics of a blast from a kinetic strike of equivalent yield would compare to a standard nuke, and I'll bet barfiles are a good source for info. Let's say 1 megaton yield for each. I would expect the thermal pulse to be greater for the nuke as it's purely a function of the explosion, and also have greater effect if it's an air burst. A kinetic strike I would guess generates it's yield purely to do the strike and shock wave, with any thermal affects purely due to, I guess friction would be the way to describe it. I would also expect the necessary ground burst nature of it would mitigate any thermal affects at range.
Top

by ericth » Wed Nov 05, 2014 5:28 pm

ericth
Commander

Posts: 223
Joined: Tue Jul 13, 2010 10:35 pm
Location: USA

I was thinking recently about an old video I watched of an atmospheric nuke test where the building started to burn from the thermal pulse before the shock wave hit. That got me thinking about how the characteristics of a blast from a kinetic strike of equivalent yield would compare to a standard nuke, and I'll bet barfiles are a good source for info.

Let's say 1 megaton yield for each. I would expect the thermal pulse to be greater for the nuke as it's purely a function of the explosion, and also have greater effect if it's an air burst.
A kinetic strike I would guess generates it's yield purely to do the strike and shock wave, with any thermal affects purely due to, I guess friction would be the way to describe it. I would also expect the necessary ground burst nature of it would mitigate any thermal affects at range.

Top

Interesting Question And Many Variables
by HB of CJ » Wed Nov 05, 2014 8:14 pm
HB of CJ Captain of the List Posts: 707 Joined: Thu Jul 11, 2013 10:46 pm Location: 43N, 123W Kinda	Yep; an air burst one megaton "nuke" heat pulse makes up most of the energy. It would spread out over several seconds, which makes it more dangerous as it can set things on fire outside of the blast radius which would tend to put fires out. A kinetic one megaton strike not reaching the ground would actually do more physical damage as all the energy would be in the form of blast, overpressure, some heat, etc.. No nuclear reaction. For a kinetic strike to be truly effective it ... ... Would have to be much larger and strike the ocean or land. Then the energy would be expended by throwing up water, dirt, rocks, cities, people, as secondary impacts. Tsunamis and earthquakes would greaten the destructive effects. To truly ruin a planets day, the kinetic strike would have to be either huge at low velocity or kinda large even at very very high velocity. At fractional Cee velocities, a fairly small strike could and would destroy a planets ecosystem. Makes one wonder what would happen if a unmanned stealthed small destroyer /large frigate could somehow be slowly run up to high Cee speed, then impacted on an inhabited planet. Off the ecliptic. Never detected until too late. Ouch! Yikes! Not nice. HB of CJ (old coot) Cm.
Top

Interesting Question And Many Variables

by HB of CJ » Wed Nov 05, 2014 8:14 pm

HB of CJ
Captain of the List

Posts: 707
Joined: Thu Jul 11, 2013 10:46 pm
Location: 43N, 123W Kinda

Yep; an air burst one megaton "nuke" heat pulse makes up most of the energy. It would spread out over several seconds, which makes it more dangerous as it can set things on fire outside of the blast radius which would tend to put fires out.

A kinetic one megaton strike not reaching the ground would actually do more physical damage as all the energy would be in the form of blast, overpressure, some heat, etc.. No nuclear reaction. For a kinetic strike to be truly effective it ...

... Would have to be much larger and strike the ocean or land. Then the energy would be expended by throwing up water, dirt, rocks, cities, people, as secondary impacts. Tsunamis and earthquakes would greaten the destructive effects.

To truly ruin a planets day, the kinetic strike would have to be either huge at low velocity or kinda large even at very very high velocity. At fractional Cee velocities, a fairly small strike could and would destroy a planets ecosystem.

Makes one wonder what would happen if a unmanned stealthed small destroyer /large frigate could somehow be slowly run up to high Cee speed, then impacted on an inhabited planet. Off the ecliptic. Never detected until too late.

Ouch! Yikes! Not nice. HB of CJ (old coot) Cm.