Asteroid Binding Energy: E=mv^2?

[Tris Fray Potter]

If the binding energy in nuclear physics is e=mc^2, then would the binding energy of a larger object be:
e=mv^2
where v=the velocity of the asteroid?

 

[Simon Bridge]

In the binding energy equation the m is the mass deficit ... does the concept of mass deficit apply to the asteroid?
In the asteroid equation, v is the speed of the asteroid; in the binding energy, the speed "c" appears in the same place... does that mean that the nucleus is moving at the speed of light?
In short: no. You cannot do physics by analogy.

 

[Tris Fray Potter]

In the binding energy equation the m is the mass deficit ... does the concept of mass deficit apply to the asteroid?
In the binding energy, the speed "c" appears ... does that mean that the nucleus is moving at the speed of light?
In short: no. You cannot do physics by analogy.

Okay. Thank-you. Do you know how I would be able to find the binding energy of the asteroid?

 

[Drakkith]

Okay. Thank-you. Do you know how I would be able to find the binding energy of the asteroid?

There are several types of binding energy. Which one are you looking for? Gravitational? Nuclear? Chemical?

 

[Tris Fray Potter]

There are several types of binding energy. Which one are you looking for? Gravitational? Nuclear? Chemical?

I think gravitational. I need to know if a bomb would explode an asteroid or not, and I was going to do a comparison on the energy of the bomb (which I've already figured out), to the binding energy of the asteroid.

 

[Drakkith]

Okay. See this wiki article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gravitational_binding_energy

 

[Tris Fray Potter]

Okay. See this wiki article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gravitational_binding_energy

Thank-you so much! I hate Wikipedia, but I guess it does have some advantages...

 

[mfb]

Note that the binding energy of an asteroid also contributes to its mass via E=mc² as every energy in the rest frame does, but the contribution is completely negligible.

 

[Simon Bridge]

... if the idea is to destroy the asteroid before it arrives at some target, detonating it won't remove it's kinetic energy (though distributing the bits over a big volume can reduce the amount of mass that strikes the target. Phil Plait has an artical about it.