What is Impact: Definition and 952 Discussions

An impact event is a collision between astronomical objects causing measurable effects. Impact events have physical consequences and have been found to regularly occur in planetary systems, though the most frequent involve asteroids, comets or meteoroids and have minimal effect. When large objects impact terrestrial planets such as the Earth, there can be significant physical and biospheric consequences, though atmospheres mitigate many surface impacts through atmospheric entry. Impact craters and structures are dominant landforms on many of the Solar System's solid objects and present the strongest empirical evidence for their frequency and scale.
Impact events appear to have played a significant role in the evolution of the Solar System since its formation. Major impact events have significantly shaped Earth's history, and have been implicated in the formation of the Earth–Moon system, the evolutionary history of life, the origin of water on Earth and several mass extinctions. The prehistoric Chicxulub impact, 66 million years ago, is believed to be the cause of the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event.Throughout recorded history, hundreds of Earth impacts (and exploding bolides) have been reported, with some occurrences causing deaths, injuries, property damage, or other significant localised consequences. One of the best-known recorded events in modern times was the Tunguska event, which occurred in Siberia, Russia, in 1908. The 2013 Chelyabinsk meteor event is the only known such incident in modern times to result in numerous injuries. Its meteor is the largest recorded object to have encountered the Earth since the Tunguska event.
The Comet Shoemaker–Levy 9 impact provided the first direct observation of an extraterrestrial collision of Solar System objects, when the comet broke apart and collided with Jupiter in July 1994. An extrasolar impact was observed in 2013, when a massive terrestrial planet impact was detected around the star ID8 in the star cluster NGC 2547 by NASA's Spitzer space telescope and confirmed by ground observations. Impact events have been a plot and background element in science fiction.
In April 2018, the B612 Foundation reported "It’s 100 percent certain we’ll be hit [by a devastating asteroid], but we’re not 100 percent certain when." Also in 2018, physicist Stephen Hawking, in his final book Brief Answers to the Big Questions, considered an asteroid collision to be the biggest threat to the planet. In June 2018, the US National Science and Technology Council warned that America is unprepared for an asteroid impact event, and has developed and released the "National Near-Earth Object Preparedness Strategy Action Plan" to better prepare. According to expert testimony in the United States Congress in 2013, NASA would require at least five years of preparation before a mission to intercept an asteroid could be launched.

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  1. H

    British physics olympiad problem: A ball bearing bouncing off a steel cylinder

    I am struggling to find correct approximation for the problem. Is momentum conserved at the immediate impact of... (1) Can I ignore gravitational force and potential for the spring which is connected to ground and vertically upholding a mass . ( using equilibrium)
  2. MantisShrimp

    How much force can a truck seat back cushion absorb during a collision?

    I do not know much about this, please help. My truck seat back cushion is 2" thick. Truck A is ~5,700 lbs from google. 2011 f-150 super cab 6.5ft bed. Truck B is ~5775. 2015 GMC Yukon xl slt. If truck A is stopped and braked and truck B hits truck A going 45-55mph creating a force of...
  3. Z

    I An asteroid the size of the Rose Bowl has a slight chance of impacting Earth?

    I have heard that an asteroid the size of the Rose Bowl has a slight chance of impacting Earth. Experts say you should not "blow it up" because then we would have many smaller impactors with random trajectories rather than one big one that we could pinpoint with accuracy. But, Wouldn't many of...
  4. D

    G-load for an impact (shop cart hitting an immovable stop)

    I'm designing a cart holding a 3,000 lbs load that will be pushed around the shop floor. One structural load I am concerned about is if the operator pushes the cart into a rigid stop, how much load will that impart to the cart? I realize calculating the g-load is a very complicated problem...
  5. C

    I How to Calculate force exerted on a falling body?

    I'm curious about impact on falling object, so i have taken initiative to solve this problem. I considered only force on the falling object would be its weight and taken F=mg. With only limited data m=.25kg and drop height h=1m. Pondering on this consideration practically, it will have more...
  6. D

    B Greater momentum on impact means greater force?

    Sorry for this beginner's question, but...if F=ma, then force is all about acceleration. But if vehicle A moving at constant velocity V hits a wall, and vehicle B moving at constant velocity greater than V hits the wall, then B hits the wall with greater momentum than A and does greater damage...
  7. Werther

    Interpolate between 2 impact points only given the throw angles

    Top-Down-Perspective: At first I am quite sure that the problem is not solvable since there are that many unknowns. But my Approach would be to create a linear function with P1 and P2 and then set it equal to the function that gets me the impact location of P3 and then solve it by b3. Thanks...
  8. sol47739

    B Shape & Dimensions of Containers: Impact on the Maxwell Boltzmann Distribution

    1.Does the Maxwell Boltzmann distribution change depending on the shape of the container? Pressure and the volume is constant. How is the Distribution affected whether the gas is in: a,sphere b,cube c,cuboid? Why does/doesn’t the distribution change depending on the shape of the container...
  9. Trysse

    B Oriented Surfaces & Surface Area: Investigating the Impact

    I usually think of a sphere as the set of all points ##P_x##, that have the identical distance r to some point ##C## which is the center of the sphere. I calculate the surface area ##A## of the sphere as $$A=4 \pi (C P_x)^2$$ However, what happens if I think of the distance between the points C...
  10. D

    B Investigating the Impact of Chips on Packaging Pressure Differential

    Hello, I hope this is the right area to post this question. We are having a debate at my workplace and was hoping there was someone more qualified to settle the debate. We are a packaging company and have setup an experiment to test the pressure differnential from sealiong at 1800m vs. Sea...
  11. L

    Impact force of model rocket with parachute

    I just launched a 2.2kg model rocket that stands about 5 feet tall and has a airframe that is 4 inches in diameter. I am trying to find how much the impact force is when the rocket hits the ground at 16MPH. Whats the best approach? Momentum? KE? or something else:) thanks
  12. sophiecentaur

    GW Impact of Space Exploration

    It looks to me like no more than a huge ego trip for rich people. How much of the money spent will contribute to our knowledge of Science or Space. One image from JWST probably has more worth than the whole of this fun project. They might just as well send their money to Yemen, Ukraine or Haiti...
  13. Tom4

    Speed of asteroid at impact

    Since the radius is "very far", I cannot find the total mechanical energy by using the gravitational potential energy formula and find the kinetic energy at impact. I can't think of any other way to find final velocity without knowing the radius.
  14. Leo Liu

    The choice of sweep angle (low speed) and its impact on C_L, C_D, C_M

    My school's group project is to design a powered model flying wing that can fly for as long as possible. To make it stable in the longitudinal direction, we either have to use a swept wing design or an airfoil with reflex (like BR1). We are forced to use wing sweep because the airfoil with...
  15. samy4408

    Medical The impact of the sympathetic nervous system on blood vessels

    Hello, I have some trouble understanding the role of the sympathetic nervous system in vasoconstriction and vasodilatation of blood vessels, I searched and found contradicting resources, does anyone have the right answer?
  16. person123

    I Momentum of a Water Jet Impacting Plate

    Suppose you have a jet of fluid (say water) traveling vertically upward at a constant velocity. It impacts a stationary horizontal plate and so moves radially outward in all directions. Assume that there's no energy loss during the impact, so the speed of the fluid remains constant. Is momentum...
  17. tech99

    Stargazing Why does the asteroid Dimorphos leave a trail after impact?

    Pictures have appeared showing the asteroid Dimorphos following its impact with a spacecraft and showing a trail being left behind. On further consideration, this is taking place in a vacuum, so there is no air resistance. Why is the debris forming a trail behind the asteroid?
  18. davenn

    Stargazing ATLAS observations of the DART spacecraft impact at Didymos

    Astronomers with the ATLAS project also chronicled the event. Short for Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System, ATLAS is an asteroid impact early warning system based in Hawaii and funded by NASA. “ATLAS observations of the DART spacecraft at Didymos” exclaimed ATLAS in a tweet. A...
  19. Vladimir_Kitanov

    Impact and the Coefficient of Restitution

    Last post with picture, after this i will use Latex. She say that correct answer is 41 ft/m. Is this correct?
  20. Jun

    How can I calculate the maximum impact force on the helmet?

    I am studying the force that helmets have to withstand. If I drop a 5kg head model and helmet at 1.064m on an anvil and the impact time is 0.005 seconds, how do I get the 'maximum' impact load on the helmet?
  21. L

    B Wanting to do some impact force experiments

    I have 3d printed some 25mm cubes all with the same parameters. what i want to do is take some different weight dumbells, and drop them all from half a meter onto a cube. My goal is to collect data and see at what impact force the cube fails. For me, failure will be when layers break apart, not...
  22. chemisthypnos

    Searching for Low Impact Fluid with Boiling Point of 150-180 F

    I am looking for a good working fluid whose boiling point is in the range of 150-180 F for a waste heat recovery system. The fluid should be minimally flammable, preferably nontoxic, and low in environmental impact. Does anyone know of any working fluids that match this description?
  23. J

    I Impact, momentum, demand and capacity

    I'm struggling with trying to find how conceptually need demand and capacity to be conciliated during impact. In particular, I find two different formulas in papers and websites dealing with impact. In all cases, they state that there are two forces acting on objects on impact, where they...
  24. J

    I Momentum, impact force and Earth

    Suppose two objects, A and B, with large lengths LA and LB, and masses MA and MB, collide at time t0. Both objects before collision are vertical and aligned concentrically, being object B positioned initially at a higher z coordinate than object A. The bottom end of object A is rigidly...
  25. ursonor99

    Impact of AC effects on current density analysis of pcb for 50-60Hz

    Hello , I was looking into current density analysis of a PCB that handles distribution of AC power . from ansys and cadence sites , i realized by current density they refer to DC IR drop that is a pure ohmic analysis that doesn't take into consideration the AC effects . And in order to take this...
  26. Astronuc

    Hiawatha impact crater in Greenland, formed ~58 million years ago

    Huge asteroid slammed into Greenland just a few (~7-8) million years after the dinosaurs died out https://www.space.com/greenland-impact-crater-hiawatha-age Scientists from Swedish Museum of Natural History independently sampled rocks from the crater and dated them using the uranium...
  27. P

    How does Newton's 1st Law impact centrifugal force? Does it exist?

    The reading that I have says that centrifugal force (center fleeing) does not exist
  28. M

    I Impact on Earth: Calculating Energy

    Hey guys, I have object i know its mass and velocity so i have energy. I need some king of classification of what impact it will make if it hits earth.
  29. Rendering

    Impact events: when were they first seen as potentially catastrophic?

    (This is a history of science question, so please let me know if it's not appropriate to this forum.) When did someone first realize that major Earth impact events (asteroids, etc.) could potentially be catastrophic? To be clear, I don't mean in the purely theoretical sense (the likely given...
  30. frost_zero

    Exploring the Impact of Experiences on Thinking

    Do we really "think" our thoughts or are they just influenced by our experiences with no actual control given to us; or if we do take our own decisions then is the process similar to how computers return true/false values (if, else, else if, etc.)?
  31. berkeman

    Exploring the Impact of Video Games on Dream Flying Experiences

    I haven't played many video games beyond the early Pong games in undergrad and some Flight Simulators after I graduated. But my kids and grandkids are definitely part of the video game generation, and after watching some of those games and some advertisements today on TV that had the players...
  32. S

    Calculating the velocity of a head-on impact between two suns

    Firstly I would like to start with solving the problem with energy conservation principle which most solutions to the question show. -Gmm/r= 1/2 mv^2 +1/2mv^2 -Gmm/2R Where m= mass of planet r= initial seperation v= final velocity. R=...
  33. J

    Impact Torque wrench on tire nut

    A car service center used a hydraulic impact torque (is this the one used?) on the car tire nuts. See video. The car tire nut are rated at 88 ft lbs torque. What is the estimated torque in the hydraulic impact torque? Could it be double or more? I know he should have used a torque wrench but...
  34. Dudiek12

    Simulation of impact on go-kart chasis

    Hello, so recently I have been doing one preetty simple project in FEA, my task was to do a front impact analysis on go-kart chasis. While the simulation itself isn't hard at all and to be honest I had easy job thanks to various sources of tutorials around the web, I feel like I don't understand...
  35. I

    Lab Experiment - Puck Impact on Wall, Analyzing Force

    Please see attached image. This was a lab performed where a puck hit a wall shown on the page, the difficulty I’ve had is being able to see when and for how long the puck hit the wall as it is needed to find the average force in the system. Each dot on the page is 30milliseconds apart.
  36. Prinzmio

    Lowering the Golden Ratio: The Impact on Golden Section Search Efficiency

    Currently my task is to count number of iterations of golden section search verus interval bisection search of a function y = x^2. Golden section search took about twice the number of iterations than interval bisection search. If I lowered the golden ratio from 0.618 to 0.5562 , the number...
  37. vipers120

    I Modeling a (rotating) mass impact on a preloaded (rotational) spring

    I am trying to model numerically the following system: A rigid body mass is rotating freely around an axis (no rotational stiffness/damping) within a range, let's assume plus-minus 3 degrees for now. Case A. The external forces on the mass are low and keep changing which results in the situation...
  38. stephen8686

    I Maximum impact parameter given effective potential

    This problem is from David Morin's classical mechanics textbook: I am having trouble with Part b. Here is the textbook's answer: I do not understand why large particle energies lead to capture. I would think that smaller energies would lead to capture because the particle wouldn't have enough...
  39. greg_rack

    Engineering Exploring the Confusing Impact of Compressibility on CL Measurements

    This situation is really confusing me. First of all, does accounting compressibility affect the measurements for CL? If yes, how does CL change as a function of the increasing mach number? Back to the problem, above is the "in-flight" lift curve for a plane traveling at high speeds, so the CLs...
  40. bboo123

    I Exploring the Impact of Dielectrics on Electric Flux Density

    In the 7th edition of the book "Elements of Electromagnetics by Matthew N. O. Sadiku" On page 190 the author goes on to say: "We now consider the case in which the dielectric region contains free charge. If ##\rho_v## is the volume density of free charge, the total volume charge density...
  41. .Scott

    Impact of alcohol and reduced cabin pressure on flights?

    In a recent news article, a Frontiers Airline passenger became very unruly after two alcoholic drinks. On an airline flight, the only ones instructed on the combined effects of alcohol and altitude are the cabin crew. This is what the FAA has to say to them: Since issues related to alcohol...
  42. BillTre

    Further Geological Effects of Chicxulub Impact Found

    When a giant tsunami wave spread out from the site of the dinosaur killing Chicxulub impact, it left traces of its passing in giant ripples on the seafloor (as described in this news article in Science): The research article is here (but not accessible to me). The size of these ripples is...
  43. Paige_Turner

    B The Impact of Tidal Force on a Star's Magnetic Field and Supernova

    And if a star is severely stretched by tidal force, how does that affect its magnetic field and the process of it collapsing at the start of a supernova?
  44. T

    How distance affects the impact of magnet collision

    Hi, I'm studying how distance affects the impact of magnet collision. Would like to have some idea before conducting experiment. Imagine 1. holding a magnet at different distance near a fixed metal 2. release the magnet; the magnet attract and collide to the fixed metal Will the distance affect...
  45. Zahid Iftikhar

    Time of Impact of Gas Molecules on the Inner Wall of a Pressure Vessel

    In derivation of relation for pressure of Gas ,(see pic below) the time for rate of change of momentum of molecules should be the time for which the wall of the vessel and the molecules kept interacting with each other, not the time between successive collisions. As circumscribed below, my...
  46. imotta

    Earth's Rotation & Global Agriculture: Impact & Possibilities

    How much will this phenomenon affect the Earth's rotation? Is it possible that the change in the Earth's rotation movement will significantly affect agricultural production on a global scale, for example?
  47. H

    Is My Thinking Reasonable: A's Impact on Oscillator Motion

    I just want to check if my thinking is reasonable. Since B,C and D are all dependent or fixed by the oscillator, A is the only factor to affect the amplitude of the motion at resonance or even throughout the entire process?
  48. L

    Elastic collision considering the angle of impact

    https://www.plasmaphysics.org.uk/collision2d.htm This is the only one I found, but when I plug in the numbers of his example I get a wrong result. Do you know any others who solved it i.e. considering the angle of impact? Angle of impact I name the angle that is shaped between the initial dx...
  49. AleksW

    What is the temperature change of a bullet upon impact?

    Summary:: What is the temperature change of a bullet upon impact. I have this problem to solve but I'm kinda stuck, would apricate any feedback. We fire a silver bullet with a muzzle speed of 200 ms−1 into a sack of sand. What is the temperature change of the bullet, if 40 % of its kinetic...
  50. TimeSkip

    The Increasing Deflationary Impact of Technology

    A short primer for the topic can be found here: https://econ243.academic.wlu.edu/2017/04/07/disruptive-deflationary-technology/ Mainly the gist of the issue has to do with technology such as, cell phones, the internet, artificial intelligence, automated services, increasing efficiency and...
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