3 ms·
I do enjoy the visuals from the TV series The Expanse, when they use their CIWS equivalent to intercept missiles. Albeit I've always wonders how fast those "bu
by xarope 3y ago
I do enjoy the visuals from the TV series The Expanse, when they use their CIWS equivalent to intercept missiles. Albeit I've always wonders how fast those "bullets" fly, versus the (again I'd assume) hypersonic (is sonic meaningless as a benchmark when talking about space?) missiles.
- georgeecollins 3y agoYes, sonic is meaningless as a benchmark in space. The speed of sound varies with air pressure (altitude) but it is always an important barrier in a gas atmosphere. However, in space it means nothing. A bullet fired into a gravitational well could just keep accelerating until it struck something or went into an orbit.
- echoangle 3y agoSpeed of sound is not affected by pressure, only by temperature. It’s still variably with altitude though because the temperature is dependent on altitude in the atmosphere.
- s1artibartfast 3y agoTIL!
- TeMPOraL 3y agoAt those speeds, the two are probably the same anyway.
- numpad0 3y agoApparently "hypersonic missiles" translates to "maneuverable anti-ship ballistic missile" in plain English. It's different from conventional cruise missiles in the sense that pocket Windows computers aren't phones.