I'm trying to find some more "real world" examples for teaching
thermodynamics. With the recent meteor shower, the topics of meteorites
has come up in class. Most of the students were very interested to
learn that the interiors are very cold and that the meteorites remain
cold upon impact, even after transiting the atmosphere.
Now they want to know why. So, I'm trying to explain it this way:
dQ/dt = kA dT/dx
and
dQ=mc dT
combine to eliminate dQ (I know it's not mathematically rigorous).
This gives me dx = (kA/mc) dt -- the longer the transit time, the
deeper the penetration. If you plot this for Al, steel, and concrete to
simulate a very good heat transmitter, an iron meteorite, and an
approximation of an achondrite respectively I get penetration depths of
the correct order of magnitude for real meteorites (iron and achondrite)
for typical atmospheric transit times.
My question is whether the argument is sound enough physically to
present to them; or, how should I alter it to make it better.
Thanks,
Peter Schoch
This posting is the position of the writer, not that of SUNY-BSC, NAU or the AAPT.