Tuesday, September 07, 2004

Unstructured Asteroids

One of the catastrophes that really captures my imagination is a giant asteroid or comet strike such as the one that apparently wiped out the dinosaurs. I've often wondered what such an impact would do if it happened now. Alas, I've never been good with doing complex calculations. Now, thanks to the Earth Impact Effects Program calculator, it's simplicity itself.

By plugging in some simple numbers, for instance, I know that if a 7 mile wide iron metorite were to strike Salt Lake City, then over here, in Colorado Springs, I would likely suffer third degree burns, get tossed around by an earthquake strong enough to move heavy furniture, get pelted with burning rocks up to two and a half feet thick, and be blown away by a 665 mile per hour wind. It's a good thing that I have Apocalypse insurance.

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