The energy yield of a nuclear weapon is often defined in terms of the equivalent mass of a conventional explosive. 1 ton of a conventional explosive releases 4.2 gj. a typical nuclear warhead releases 250,000 times more, so the yield is expressed as 250 kilotons. that is a staggering explosion, but the asteroid impact that wiped out the dinosaurs was significantly greater. assume that the asteroid was a sphere 10 km in diameter, with a density of 2500 kg/m3 and moving at 30 km/s. part a: what energy was released at impact, in joules? assume all kinetic energy of the asteroid to be released. part b: what energy was released at impact, in kilotons? assume all kinetic energy of the asteroid to be released.

A)

The kinetic energy of an object is given by

where

m is the mass of the object

v is the speed of the object

For the asteroid in the problem, we have

is the density

is the radius

We can find its volume:

And so its mass

while its speed is

So its kinetic energy is

so, this is the energy released in the impact of the asteroid.

B)  

The conversion factor is

So the energy released in kilotons will be

kepler used the data from tycho blahe (his mentor) to construct the laws of planetary motion.

hi,

what occurs during a solar eclipse?

there are small tides across earth.

the moon is between earth and the sun.

p.s. im not sure if the first answer is correct because during a solar ecliphse there are spring tides and i dont know if they are the same.