The role of shape-dependent flight stability in the origin of oriented meteorites.

ABSTRACT: The atmospheric ablation of meteoroids is a striking example of the reshaping of a solid object due to its motion through a fluid. Motivated by meteorite samples collected on Earth that suggest fixed orientation during flight-most notably the conical shape of so-called oriented meteorites-we hypothesize that such forms result from an aerodynamic stabilization of posture that may be achieved only by specific shapes. Here, we investigate this issue of flight stability in the parallel context of fluid mechanical erosion of clay bodies in flowing water, which yields shapes resembling oriented meteorites. We conduct laboratory experiments on conical objects freely moving through water and fixed within imposed flows to determine the dependence of orientational stability on shape. During free mot

SUBMITTER: Amin K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6697871 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature