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The ejecta aren't tossed about due to recoil they are lifted out of the ground by an expanding sphere of vaporized rock. And that vaporized rock glows because i
by InclinedPlane 14y ago
The ejecta aren't tossed about due to recoil they are lifted out of the ground by an expanding sphere of vaporized rock. And that vaporized rock glows because it is superheated to thousands of degrees, that's what creates the bright flash.
- mturmon 14y agoDo you have any reference for this? It seems like you're saying the vaporized rock is imparting force to the impacted surface, which is in turn ejected. I had not understood that the vaporized rock played a central role. I thought the impactor imparted force directly to the surface. Basically there is a shock wave in the underlying rock which pushes ejecta out of a region underneath the impact site. Best easy source: http://www.impact-structures.com/understanding-the-impact-cratering-process-a-simple-approach/ http://www.impact-structures.com/understanding-the-impact-cr...
- InclinedPlane 13y agoLet me backtrack a bit and say, more accurately that "the ejecta aren't just tossed about due to recoil", both effects play a role. My point was that the flash is caused by superheated/vaporized rock, which you will pretty much always get at such speeds due to the amount of energy released.