#pascalb — Public Fediverse posts
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Today is the 69th anniversary of the Pascal B test, a part of the series of nuclear tests called “Operation Plumbbob”.
Pascal B is famous for the fact that in it, the exploding bomb accelerated a 900 kg steel plate to a speed that might have been enough to let it reach Earth's orbit (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Plumbbob#Missing_steel_bore_cap). The speed was estimated to “six times the escape velocity of Earth” or 67 km/s, but the quality of this estimate is disputed. On the other hand, the plate had such a velocity that a high-speed camera, taking one frame per millisecond, only captured the plate in a single frame. It is also disputed whether the steel plate could reach orbit without being vaporized in Earth's atmosphere.
Nevertheless, if the plate did not reach Earth's orbit, then the makers of Pascal B had instead created the first (and only) artificial reverse meteorite.
#PascalB #OperationPlumbbob #NuclearTest #Meteorites #EscapeVelocity #EarthOrbit