How much energy comes from a meteor impact?

Large meteor impacts like the one in Arizona, or the one that formed the Panther Mountain feature, release more energy than an atomic bomb! The energy comes from the motion of the object, and can be figured out with a little math: Multiply the weight (actually, the mass) of the object by the speed squared (that means multiply by the speed, times itself), and divide by two. This is written,

You can calculate the kinetic energy of any moving object, whether it is a meteor speeding toward the Earth or a soccer ball. If you use the mass in kilograms and speed in meters per second, the answer comes out in joules, the metric unit for energy. A watt, the metric unit for power, or rate of energy use, is simply one joule per second. Therefore, one joule of energy could run a 100-watt light bulb for 1/100 second.

See if you can figure out:

1. A particular meteor has a mass of 1000 kilograms, or 1 ton. It is small enough to fit in the trunk of your car, if you could lift it. How much energy would this meteor have if it were moving 10,000 meters per second?

2. How many light bulbs do you use in your home at one time? Add up how many watts of power you use.

3. If it were possible to harness the kinetic energy from the above meteor, how long could that energy light your home? Hint: Divide energy (joules) by power (watts) to get time in seconds.

More advanced

In the metric system, force is measured in newtons. A 1-kilogram object weighs 9.8 newtons.

A joule is defined as the amount of energy needed to exert a force of 1 newton over a distance of one meter. If you were to lift a 1-kilogram object, you would have to exert a force of 9.8 newtons over whatever distance you raise the object. In raising the object 1 meter, you would use 9.8 joules of energy. The energy in joules is equal to force in newtons times distance in meters.

4. How much energy would it take to raise a 2 kg object to a height of 1.5 meters?

5. Much of our electricity comes, not from meteors of course, but from hydroelectric power. Hydro plants use the weight of falling water acting over a distance to produce energy. For example, 1 kilogram of water falling 1 meter would produce 9.8 joules of energy: 1 m x 1 kg x 9.8 N/kg equals 9.8 joules. If a hydro plant allows the water to fall 10 meters, how many liters of water (remember that a liter of water has a mass of 1 kilogram) would have to go through this hydro plant to produce as much energy as the small meteor we talked about?

Bonus

Suppose that the Panther Mountain feature was formed by a 100,000,000 kilogram object travelling 18,000 meters per second. How many homes could be powered for one year with this much energy? What do you think would happen if this much energy were released all at once?