Spacecraft With Solar Mass Energy Equivalent Kinetic Energy

[Devin-M]

Would it be fair to call this a gravitational shockwave analogous to a supersonic aircraft where you don’t hear it coming until after its close approach, and then BOOM (sonic boom) aka shockwave, but in this case a gravitational shockwave?

 

[PeterDonis]

Would it be fair to call this a gravitational shockwave analogous to a supersonic aircraft

No, since there is no such thing as "supersonic" in vacuum--nothing can move faster than light.

There is an electromagnetic analogue to a supersonic shock wave in a medium, where objects can move faster than the speed of light in the medium (but still slower than the speed of light in vacuum). This is called Cerenkov radiation. There might possibly be a gravitational analogue to that in a medium, but in any case, that is not what we're talking about here.

 

[Devin-M]

No, since there is no such thing as "supersonic" in vacuum--nothing can move faster than light.

There is an electromagnetic analogue to a supersonic shock wave in a medium, where objects can move faster than the speed of light in the medium (but still slower than the speed of light in vacuum). This is called Cerenkov radiation. There might possibly be a gravitational analogue to that in a medium, but in any case, that is not what we're talking about here.

So inside a 100kg test block of ballistic gelatin with 100m separation distance at close approach would the analogy be appropriate since in that case there is a medium involved?

 

[PeterDonis]

So inside a 100kg test block of ballistic gelatin with 100m separation distance at close approach would the analogy be appropriate since in that case there is a medium involved?

You said 100m separation distance at close approach, so the shuttle is not passing through a medium, it's passing through vacuum.

 

[Devin-M]

I’m most interested in whether the gelatin stays in 1 piece.

 

[PeterDonis]

I’m most interested in whether the gelatin stays in 1 piece.

Since, as I posted a while back now, gelatin has no structural strength to speak of, I would not expect it to, but that just makes gelatin a bad example. A more interesting question would be whether a block of, say, steel, or carbon nanotubes, would stay in one piece. I think someone would have to run the detailed numbers to answer that.

 

[Devin-M]

A more interesting question would be whether a block of, say, steel, or carbon nanotubes, would stay in one piece. I think someone would have to run the detailed numbers to answer that.

Would it likely be a difficult 3D animation (numerical simulation) to make for someone who already had the appropriate physics software? I’d be interested in seeing the final shape if any for such a steel block.

 

[PeterDonis]

Would it likely be a difficult 3D animation (numerical simulation) to make for someone who already had the appropriate physics software?

The "appropriate physics software" is not something anyone who is not already an expert in numerical simulations in relativity would have. The people who are such experts run their simulations on supercomputers.

 

[Devin-M]

Right now I’m picturing half a pancake.

 

[PeterDonis]

Right now I’m picturing half a pancake.

I'm not sure what you're basing that on, but at this point I don't think we can say much more about the specifics of the result. I don't know that anyone here has access to the relevant numerical simulation capability, and I don't know if there is anything already in the literature that would be helpful for the specific case you're interested in.