The NASA solar space probe set a speed record for any human-made object, traveling at 635,266 km/h on Sept. 27 as it orbited the Sun, thanks to a speed boost from a Venus flyby.
But I want to talk about the "manhole cover" from Operation Plumbbob that traveled NEARLY as fast (maybe).
But I want to talk about the "manhole cover" from Operation Plumbbob that traveled NEARLY as fast (maybe).
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The first, Pascal A, was the brainchild of Los Alamos physicist Richard Brownlee. Placed in a 500 ft (150 m) borehole, it had 50,000X expected yield.
For Pascal B (Aug 1957), they wanted to see if they could create a temporary cap with 900-kilogram (2,000 lb) iron lid welded to the concrete and iron borehole casing.
Brownlee assured them it wouldn't hold.
The lower limit of its velocity is 60 kilometres per second = 216,000 km/hr, or 134,000 miles/hr, which is 5-6 times Earth's escape velocity.
@khill.bsky.social debunks this, puts some math and reality in play in an interesting video.