Imagine an object 4inches in diameter headed towards Antarctica. Nothing to worry about right. Even a 3 to 4 kilogram meteorite would easily be burnt upon entry to the atmosphere. Now try to imagine the object travelling at 95% the speed of light. Due to the enormous velocity the effective mass of this tiny object would be more like 4.02 times 20 squared to the 10th. Upon impact the entire of Antarctica would evaporate causing sea levels to rise dramtically resulting in huge areas of land near the ocean disappearing and billions of lives being be lost. Not to mention the planet would be shunted of it's normal axis resulting in climate change which would continue to wreak havoc on an already chaotic time.
Now I'd love to know if anyone can come up with a counter-measure to this looming threat cause I sure can't.
Full Version: Mass destruction by tiny meteorite
Unexplained Mysteries Discussion Forums > Unexplained Mysteries > Metaphysics, Psychology & Psychic Phenomena
I'm not sure how you're doing that calculation but in order to find the relativistic mass you need only multiply the rest mass by the gamma factor of special relativity, (1-(v/c)^2)^-1/2. So for an object moving at 95% of the speed of light the relativistic mass is only 3.2 times the rest mass.
That said it should be noted that the whole concept of a relativistic mass is a somewhat problematic one and in the long run it's better to deal with relativistic momentum and energy. Your overall point still stands--the more momentum a meteor has the harder it'll be for the atmosphere to stop. The effect just isn't quite as big in this case as you thought.
That said it should be noted that the whole concept of a relativistic mass is a somewhat problematic one and in the long run it's better to deal with relativistic momentum and energy. Your overall point still stands--the more momentum a meteor has the harder it'll be for the atmosphere to stop. The effect just isn't quite as big in this case as you thought.
The closest thing I can think of as a countermeasure to that is the colonization of outer space. Don't put all your eggs in one basket, pretty much.
Startraveler is right, the relativistic mass would only be 3.2 times the invariant (rest) mass. What matters in this case is that such a meteorite would IMO survive entry because of its very high velocity and time dilation and it would carry a LOT of kinetic energy with it which would spell disaster BUT IMHO it is unlikely for any such meteorite obtaining these sorts of speeds naturally - so I think we're safe. I can't think of any scenario that would produce a meteorite travelling at these speeds 
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