3 ms·
I bomb exploded near the surface of the earth will, in effect, explode as a hemisphere, which is why there is a cube root. If you could somehow make the force s
by CJefferson 5y ago
I bomb exploded near the surface of the earth will, in effect, explode as a hemisphere, which is why there is a cube root. If you could somehow make the force spread only over the surface of the earth it would be radius squared, but that isn't what happens -- most of it goes into the air.
You could think about what would happen in space (a spherical explosion), then consider what would happen as it got closer to the earth.
- skyechurch 5y ago>In evaluating the destructive power of a weapons system, it is customary to use the concept of equivalent megatons (EMT). Equivalent megatonnage is defined as the actual megatonnage raised to the two-thirds power: >EMT = Y[^]2/3 where Y is in megatons. >This relation arises from the fact that the destructive power of a bomb does not vary linearly with the yield. The volume the weapon's energy spreads into varies as the cube of the distance, but the destroyed area varies at the square of the distance. Src: https://www.atomicarchive.com/science/effects/energy.html https://www.atomicarchive.com/science/effects/energy.html It's just geometry, or dimensionality, you cannot directly compare 1D and 2D quantities. Type mismatches are often bad in programming, but always fatal in physics.