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#1
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Comet impact!
Anyone know why the impactor was made from copper?
Regards, Stan- |
#2
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Its cheap?
Or perhaps the aliens cant get tractor beams locked on to things made of pure copper. |
#3
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"Stan Dornfeld" wrote in message ... Anyone know why the impactor was made from copper? A very proud atricle on www.copper.org * includes the following . . . Why is this unique spacecraft made of copper? Because when copper burns-which it will from the enormous force of the impact-it is less likely than other metals to create bright, confusing emission lines in the spectrum of interest, according to Prof. Michael A'Hearn, Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland in College Park. He's one of the astronomers who proposed Deep Impact. The professor adds that aluminum, for instance, is not suitable for the experiment because it would react with the water in the comet, creating aluminum oxide, and produce very bright emissions that could distort the data http://www.copper.org/resources/cuto...pacecraft.html *"we really like copper", "brass is almost as good" |
#4
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Stan Dornfeld wrote: Anyone know why the impactor was made from copper? Regards, Stan- "The impactor is made primarily of copper (49%) as opposed to aluminum (24%) because it minimizes corruption of spectral emission lines that are used to analyze the nucleus." http://deepimpact.jpl.nasa.gov/tech/impactor.html Double-A |
#5
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"Double-A" wrote in message oups.com... Stan Dornfeld wrote: Anyone know why the impactor was made from copper? Regards, Stan- "The impactor is made primarily of copper (49%) as opposed to aluminum (24%) because it minimizes corruption of spectral emission lines that are used to analyze the nucleus." http://deepimpact.jpl.nasa.gov/tech/impactor.html Another reason, though not stated in the official information source but is major in the minds of the scientists who made the spacecraft, is "A space probe made of bright gleaming copper is 'hecka - cool' and the scientists could bring their girl friends over to see it late at night and thus finally have a chance of getting laid." Greysky |
#6
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Stan Dornfeld wrote:
Anyone know why the impactor was made from copper? One reason, as OG mentioned, is that the radiation from excited copper atoms falls in different parts of the spectrum from those of the chemical species the investigators are most interested in, so those signals won't be 'stepped on' by the impactor's contribution to the explosion. Another is that they don't expect there to be an appreciable amount of metallic minerals in the comet to begin with, so by subtracting the known 'signature' of copper from their observations of the impact debris they can obtain a clean profile for the cometary material alone. -- Odysseus |
#7
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Greysky wrote: "Double-A" wrote in message oups.com... Stan Dornfeld wrote: Anyone know why the impactor was made from copper? Regards, Stan- "The impactor is made primarily of copper (49%) as opposed to aluminum (24%) because it minimizes corruption of spectral emission lines that are used to analyze the nucleus." http://deepimpact.jpl.nasa.gov/tech/impactor.html Another reason, though not stated in the official information source but is major in the minds of the scientists who made the spacecraft, is "A space probe made of bright gleaming copper is 'hecka - cool' and the scientists could bring their girl friends over to see it late at night and thus finally have a chance of getting laid." Greysky Those science nerd dudes will do what they hafta to do! Double-A |
#8
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Hi Stan I would think that the comet would have no cooper in its
structure. That means when the hot debris is analyzed the cooper part of the spectrum can be ruled out. Gold would have been good. silver would have been OK Cooper is cheaper Bert |
#9
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nightbat wrote
Double-A wrote: Greysky wrote: "Double-A" wrote in message oups.com... Stan Dornfeld wrote: Anyone know why the impactor was made from copper? Regards, Stan- "The impactor is made primarily of copper (49%) as opposed to aluminum (24%) because it minimizes corruption of spectral emission lines that are used to analyze the nucleus." http://deepimpact.jpl.nasa.gov/tech/impactor.html Another reason, though not stated in the official information source but is major in the minds of the scientists who made the spacecraft, is "A space probe made of bright gleaming copper is 'hecka - cool' and the scientists could bring their girl friends over to see it late at night and thus finally have a chance of getting laid." Greysky Those science nerd dudes will do what they hafta to do! Double-A nightbat Yes, leave it to scientists and researchers always wanting to penetrate what they can. carry on, the nightbat |
#10
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Hi You All What if bringing man made stuff from Earth into the solar
system contaminates this very pure system?. Just like we have all that man made garbage in orbit around the Earth. Can I carry this thought right up to impact,and the explosion. Did not the camera finally hit? This would be all man made debris,and that's the stuff I'm relating my thoughts on. I would like to see only very close up pictures shown. I would like to see only a small chip and some surface dust taken and brought back to Earth and be analyzed.. Best to keep in mind its best to do things in a nice gentle way,so as not to upset mother nature. Bert |
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