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Asteroid word problem.

T

Tom

Lifer
Todd is driving from LA to NY at 60mph when he learns that a 100 foot asteroid is going to hit the Earth going 10,000 mph.

What is his safest course ?




Here is the catch, I don't know the answer so don't ask me to say who is right or wrong !
 
Originally posted by: PurdueRy
by "hit" do you mean...at impact it is 100 ft...or when it enters the atmosphere it is 100 ft?
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At impact. The rate of decay would be too complicated otherwise, I think.

So let's make it at impact.
 
If he heads back to LA, the massive cloud of smog will burn up the asteroid long before it hits the ground.

Since the problem doesn't say where it's going to hit, though, what does it matter?
 
Head toward the center of the country to avoid any flooding caused by tidal waves, but either way he's screwed.
 
Originally posted by: jagec
If he heads back to LA, the massive cloud of smog will burn up the asteroid long before it hits the ground.

Since the problem doesn't say where it's going to hit, though, what does it matter?
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Ya, it doesnt matter where he goes if he doesnt know where the asteroid is going to land
 
Odds are its hitting the pacific... not sure if it doesnt matter what he does, but I voted speed up and get away from the pacific.
 
I voted to stop. Since it doesn't specify where the asteroid is hitting, we can't choose any specific path to travel. But it does matter what he does. Todd should stop and conserve gas. He may need it much more later on.
 
Originally posted by: MrLee
Odds are its hitting the pacific... not sure if it doesnt matter what he does, but I voted speed up and get away from the pacific.
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Oh? It doesn't say where our friend is. Maybe he's just an hour outside of New York, in which case he should turn around and head back to LA in order to get to the middle of the country 😛
 
Originally posted by: joshsquall
A 100' asteroid is not going to devastate the world. Do whatever the hell he wants to.
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He never said devastate the world. If it hits close enough to Todd, it could devistate HIS world. But you are correct, 100' isn't very big and 10,000 MPH is fairly slow.
 
Originally posted by: dullard
Originally posted by: joshsquall
A 100' asteroid is not going to devastate the world. Do whatever the hell he wants to.
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He never said devastate the world. If it hits close enough to Todd, it could devistate HIS world. But you are correct, 100' isn't very big and 10,000 MPH is fairly slow.
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I understand that, but all of these people are talking about tidal waves and needing to conserve gas.. 100' isn't a world ender.
 
Doesn't matter 100 ft isn't large enough for a ecosystem killer. I would just head inland because chances are it will hit the oceans.

And 10,000 MPH is not that fast either.
 
Originally posted by: dullard
I voted to stop. Since it doesn't specify where the asteroid is hitting, we can't choose any specific path to travel. But it does matter what he does. Todd should stop and conserve gas. He may need it much more later on.
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There would be no problem if we knew where it was hitting..

To me it seems if Todd can reduce the amount of time he spends in any particular 100 foot spot on the Earth, he improves his odds.

Is this incorrect ? Or impossible ?
 
Originally posted by: Tom
Is this incorrect ? Or impossible ?
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Without knowing where Todd is or where the asteroid will hit, we cannot say one path is better than another path.

 
Originally posted by: Tom
Todd is driving from LA to NY at 60mph when he learns that a 100 foot asteroid is going to hit the Earth going 10,000 mph.

What is his safest course ?

Here is the catch, I don't know the answer so don't ask me to say who is right or wrong !
Click to expand...

Actually, here's the catch - whatever it is, it isn't an asteroid. The minimum impact velocity for a deep space object is equal to the escape velocity from earth which is about 25,000 MPH

Of course, this is magic physics land where there is no air resistance. I have no idea how much a 100 foot astroid would be slowed by drag.

 
Originally posted by: HomeBrewerDude
rotational speed is highest at the equator. go south and your chances of avoiding the collision improve.
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negligible. If it hits you, it hits you, but otherwise, the best thing to do is be prepared.
 
Originally posted by: DaShen
Originally posted by: HomeBrewerDude
rotational speed is highest at the equator. go south and your chances of avoiding the collision improve.
Click to expand...

negligible. If it hits you, it hits you, but otherwise, the best thing to do is be prepared.
Click to expand...


For this problem, there is no such thing as negligible. If there is a mathmatical difference.

This isn't about asteroids, it's about the mathmatics involved. I'm having trouble figuring out if there are mathmatical differences..

HomebrewerDude is the first person to grasp what I'm getting at, but I don't know if his assertion, which is where I started from, is correct or not.
 
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