- #1
mgervasoni
- 45
- 0
Hi,
I have a question, that I kind-of know the answer to, but then have a follow-up question:
Why do meteors burn up in our atmosphere?
The answer must be that they are "slowing down" causing friction/air pressure that turns into heat and combusts.
But then, why are they moving so fast in the first place? I heard our terminal velocity is around 700 mph and meteors are moving at 17,000 mph or something around that. Why are they moving so fast? Is the sun pulling them in and they just happen to get sidetracked into our planet? If there's a massive mass (the sun) attracting a relatively tiny rock (a meteor) and there's a relatively small rock (the Earth) in the way, why would the tiny rock be pulled towards the Earth instead of going to the sun, and then why would the Earth's gravitational pull outweigh the massive sun's? Are we simply in the way when a meteor enters our atmosphere?
And then:
What is terminal velocity? Gravity has a range and a speed? Does that mean if the Earth is X big, it has a terminal velocity of 700mph that extends so and so far (our atmosphere), but the sun is 10000000X big so it has one of 7,000,000,000mph and extends as far as our solar system? Why do certain things get caught in orbit and certain things get pulled? Why would the momentum of the sun's pull not just blast a meteor straight through us? Does the gravitational pull get stronger as a object gets closer? I thought Newton said gravity was constant, but it wouldn't make sense as to why the gravitational pull is called weak in the kuiper belt. Can gravitational pull be graphed? Is it linear?
Sorry, I'm just new to physics and the more I learn the more questions I have. I've only been studying it for a month or so now and I'm sure there's a few years worth of things to learn, if not a few decades. I find all these things so interesting and I'm just waiting until the school year starts to take a class and annoy the crap out of my professor with a million questions about how the universe works. Anyone who is patient enough, or finds teaching rewarding, and takes time to answer me, I am very grateful to.
I have a question, that I kind-of know the answer to, but then have a follow-up question:
Why do meteors burn up in our atmosphere?
The answer must be that they are "slowing down" causing friction/air pressure that turns into heat and combusts.
But then, why are they moving so fast in the first place? I heard our terminal velocity is around 700 mph and meteors are moving at 17,000 mph or something around that. Why are they moving so fast? Is the sun pulling them in and they just happen to get sidetracked into our planet? If there's a massive mass (the sun) attracting a relatively tiny rock (a meteor) and there's a relatively small rock (the Earth) in the way, why would the tiny rock be pulled towards the Earth instead of going to the sun, and then why would the Earth's gravitational pull outweigh the massive sun's? Are we simply in the way when a meteor enters our atmosphere?
And then:
What is terminal velocity? Gravity has a range and a speed? Does that mean if the Earth is X big, it has a terminal velocity of 700mph that extends so and so far (our atmosphere), but the sun is 10000000X big so it has one of 7,000,000,000mph and extends as far as our solar system? Why do certain things get caught in orbit and certain things get pulled? Why would the momentum of the sun's pull not just blast a meteor straight through us? Does the gravitational pull get stronger as a object gets closer? I thought Newton said gravity was constant, but it wouldn't make sense as to why the gravitational pull is called weak in the kuiper belt. Can gravitational pull be graphed? Is it linear?
Sorry, I'm just new to physics and the more I learn the more questions I have. I've only been studying it for a month or so now and I'm sure there's a few years worth of things to learn, if not a few decades. I find all these things so interesting and I'm just waiting until the school year starts to take a class and annoy the crap out of my professor with a million questions about how the universe works. Anyone who is patient enough, or finds teaching rewarding, and takes time to answer me, I am very grateful to.