Re: [GZG] Gzg-l Digest, Vol 37, Issue 24

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http://mail.csua.berkeley.edu:8080/mailman/listinfo/gzg-lOn Tue, Sep 28,
2010 at 6:41 AM, Damond Walker <damosan@gmail.com> wrote:

> On Mon, Sep 27, 2010 at 10:34 PM, John Atkinson
<johnmatkinson@gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
> > I don't have a PhD in the subject, ...
> >
>
> Would it be the explosion proper or the rapidly expanding (and moving
> relative to the ships recent maneuvering) debris field?  Or do we
> assume that a GZG-verse ship can plow through that mess unhindered?
>

Given the plethora of micrometeors and other general debris in our
(relatively clean) solar system, any debris thrown off by an exploding
ship
at the scales we would be talking (John's above of 1" = 100km; I believe
it
was once calculated out that if you assume 1 pt thrust = 1 gravity, 1"
is
about 1000km), debris (ship shrapnel) would be negligible, IF anything
hit
something at all (remember: space is 3D and debris will travel in a
straight
line away from the explosion in an expanding sphere).

If you want to envision this with real life objects and scale, put a US
aircraft carrier about where Baltimore, Maryland, is located. Explode
it.
Assume no energy sapping friction from the atmosphere or any effect from
gravity of Earth. Debris does not slow down, but goes off in all
directions.
Now, say you are standing in the heart of Washington, DC, and another
person
is standing in, say, Philadelphia. DC is approx 40 miles from Baltimore;
Philadelphia is just shy of 100 miles from Baltimore. What do you think
the
chances of any given building near the person (you, your friend)
standing in
the heart of either city is going to be struck by something? It's not
out of
the realm of possibility that any given building would be struck, but
the
odds are very, *very* low.

I'm not against having exploding ships damage other nearby ships, but
the
PSB had better be *really* good to explain it.	:-)

Mk