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Homework Statement
Project Thor is a proposed (and terrifying) weapon system where a cylindrical tungsten rod (19600 kg m3 ) about the size of a telephone pole (6.10 m long and 0.300 m in diameter) is dropped from Earth orbit. Imagine you dropped one of these from an orbit 10,000 km above the surface of the earth, with what kinetic energy would it hit the ground? Assume no air resistance.
Homework Equations
m = p*Volume
KE - (mMG)/r+10000*1000 = 0
Radius Earth = 6.37 * 10^6
Mass Earth = 5.98 * 10^24
The Attempt at a Solution
m = 19600* *6.1 * (.15)^2 * 3.1415 = 8451
PE = (mMG)/r + 10000000
= ((8451)(5.98 * 10^24)(6.67 * 10^(-11)))/((6.37 * 10^6) +10000000)
= 205914267929J
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