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Gpo Price Cfsti Price (S) : Hard (M
Gpo Price Cfsti Price (S) : Hard (M
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Microfiche (MF) ,,rd
ff 653 JU(y(15
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by K. P. S t a q u k o v i c h and V. A . Bronshten
I
0 6 29348'
UCCESSION NUMBER) I
f (THRU)
L R /
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(PAGES)
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-- AND EEERGY O F THE: TUNGUS PIETEORITE
(0 s k o r o s t i i e n e r g i i Tungusskogo m e t e o r i t a
I n v e s t i g a t i o n s o f t h e r e g i o n of d e s t r u c t i o n s having r e s u l t e d
from t h e f a l l of t h e Tungus m e t e o r i t e on 30 June 1908 [l] , and
c a l c u l a t i o n s o f t h e shock wave p a r a m e t e r s , having formed d u r i n g i t s
f l i g h t i n t h e atmosphere [2],
of d e s t r u c t i o n s as b e i n g - p e r m i t t e d t o e s t i m a t e t h e t o t a l energy
lg3e r g s . The n e t p i c t u r e of t h e r a d i a l
f a l l o f f o r e s t trees from t h e epicenterpccints t o t h e dominating e f f e c t
o f t h e exploding wave, while the c h a r a c t e r o f t h e f a l l i t s e l f , and
i n p a r t i c u l a r , t h e e x i s t e n c e of a "zone of i n d i f f e r e n c e " a n d o f
s t a n d i n g t r e e trunks ( " t e l e g r a p h p o l e s r f), undoubtly i n d u c a t e s t h a t
t h e m e t e o r i t e ' s e x p l o s i o n took p l a c e i n t h e zir [l]. Thus, t h e assump-
t i o n , advanced e a r l i e r (1925) by A. V. Voznesenskiy, and a l i t t l e
l a t e r by L. A. K u l i k 1131, about t h e overground c h a r a c t e r o f t h e explo-
s i o n , found i t s c o r r o b o r a t i o n . The p o s s i b l e causes o f t h e e x p l o s i o n
w i l l be e x d n e d below.
The motion of t h e m e t e o r i t e i n t h e atmosphere w a s examined
by V. A. Bronshten [4] on t h e b a s i s o f known e q u a t i o n s of m e t e o r i c
p h y s i c s [ S , 61, S o l u t i o n s were o b t a i n e d for t h e i n i t i a l masses' range
105 - 107 t o n s , and i n i t i a l v e l o c i t i e s o f 1 1 - 46 km/sec, and a l s o f o r
t h e v a l u e s o f t h e r e s i s t a n c e f a c t o r cx/2 = 0.5 + 2.
The v a l u e s of m e t e o r i t e ' s k i n e t i c energy were c a l c u l a t e d
a c c o r d i n g t o t h o s e of v e l o c i t i e s a n d final. masses o f all t h e s e r i e s
o f s o l u t i o n s . The comparison of t h e o b t a i n e d v a l u e s for Ek with t h e
energy e s t i m a t e s brought up above i n d i c a t e s t h a t t h e i n i t i a l ma66 of
2.
I
t h e m e t e o r i t e exceeded 105 t o n s i n any c a s e , and w a s l i k e l y t o be
I
within lo6 - 1 07 t o n range, which would a g r e e w e l l , by t h e o r d e r of I
1
magnitude, w i t h t h e Fesenkov's e s t i m a t e , made on t h e b a s i s o f e n t i r e l y
d i f f e r e n t considerations, (see 18J 1. Ii
Independently from t h e admitted v a l u e o f t h e i n i t i a l mass,
t h e f i n a l v e l o c i t i e s and t h e mass of m e t e o r i t e must be i n c l u d e d
w i t h i n t h e r a n g e s : 16 <vk < 30 km/sec, 104L Mk 4 7.5
2 lo4 t o n s .
The E h g s i c a l meaning of t h e independence o f t h e s e e s t i m a t e s
from Mo c o n s i s t s i n t h e f a c t , t h a t for matching magnitude &With
t h e d a t a on d e s t r u c t i v e energy i n t h e r e g i o n of t h e f a l l [l, 2 1 t h e
a d m i t t e d v a l u e o f t h e r e s i s t a n c e f a c t o r cx m u s t be r a i s e d simulta-
neously with t h a t of t h e e s t i m a t e of I$, i . e . i t m u s t be c o n s i d e r e d ~
where cv is t h e h e a t c a p a c i t y o f t h e a i r (molar h e a t c a p a c i t y ) ,
p, i s its molecular weight (p= 29).
A more a c c u r a t e formula f o r T o , a c c o u n t i n g for t h e a d i a b a t i c
7
,
i n d e x v a r i a t i o n y I c p / cv h a s t h e form
3.
T A B L E 1
T,= ~ T0 , -0.7
v , (3? '
where '1 =2.27.
The shock wave's r a d i a n t energy i s
But i f we f i g u r e t h a t w e d e a l w i t h t h e nucleus o f a s m d 1
comet, a s Astapovich and J h i p p l e thought i n t h e i r t i m e s , and i f we
admit t h a t t h i s body, just as all comet c o r e s a r e , ir, a cong3omerate
o f methane-ammoniacal i c e , also c o n t a i n i n g s t o n e b o u l d e r s and d u s t ,
t h e p i c t u r e of phenomena6 w i l l be q u i t e d i f f e r e n t , For an i c e b l o c k
a t r 5 I d cm, v = 60 km/sec, i = . '
2
7 t h e e n e r n a t 50 Ero d t l t i i d e
i s e d f o r e v a p o r a t i o n , is by one o r d e r l e s s e r t h a n t h a t r e c e i v e d by
.
t h e body f r o m t h e shock wave As a r e s u l t , t h e body is h e a t e d i n depth
doreLconsiderably, and i t e v a y o r a t e s f a s t e r , i . e . t h e boundary o f t h e
e v a p o r a t e d layer is moving f a s t e r t o l a r d t h e c e n t e r . A s u b s t a n t i a l
m a s s o f t h e m a t t e r ( n e a r l y 30::) is e v a p o r a t e d i n a r e l a t i v e l y s h o r t
t i m e ( 40.2 s e c . ) . I f t h e p r o c e s s goes s u f i i c i e n t l y f a s t , t h e evapoo
r a t e d p a r t i c l e s m a y c r e a t e , while outflotving, a s t r o n g s p h e r i c a l
shock wave, a n d t h e phenomenon will b e a r all t h e c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of
an extended e x p l o s i o n .
A t a speed v = 30 km/sec, t h e PO- e r o f t h e p r o c e s s ( 2 lG3
ergs/g s e c ) i s comparable t o powder e x p l o s i o n (1013 ergs/$. sec).
Such phenomenon, s t u d i e d i n more d e t a i l by Stanyukovich and Shalimov
E121, may be d e s i g n s t e d as Ift h e r n a l explosion".
;de have reviewed above t h e mechanism wkich may l e a d t o t h e
e x p l o s i o n at time o f a s i n g l e body's f l i g h t i n t o t h e atmosphere.
There is however also a n o t h e r p o s s i b l e viewpoint on t h e s t r u c t u r e
o f comet c o r e s . V. G. Fesenkov, f o r example, conside. t h e c o r e o f a
comet as a dense c l u s t e r o f c o n p a r a t i v e l y s m a l l bodies.
Analysis of t h e d i r e c t i o n o f t r e e f a l l p o i n t s w i t h obvious-
ne66 on t h e presence o f n o t noe, b u t s e v e r a l c e n t e r s o f f a l l . T h i s
had a l r e a d y been r e v e a l e d by L. A . ICulik. Taking t h i s i n t o a c c o u n t ,
Fesenkov proposed s t i l l a n o t h e r p o s s i b l e mechanism of d e s t r u c t i o n
u n d e r t h e e f f e c t o f t h e oncoming comet c o r e , what t h e Tungusk meteor-
i t e unquestionably is.
A t time of f l i g h t i n t o the t e r r e s t r i a l ztmosphere o f a s u f f i -
c i e n t l y dense swarm o f bodies at coslsic v e l o c i t y , t h e s w a r m may be
surrounded by a g e n e r a l shock wave. However, a t i t s p e n e t r a t i o n i n t o
t h e lower atmosphere l a y e r s , i t s d e n s i t y must d e c r e a s e on account of
c'