The orbiting rod already has Kinetic energy equal to about 15000 mph (orbital velocity) plus the potential of being ~300+ miles above the gravity well. Merely adjusting course contributes part of the 9.8 m/s2 gravity component.
Once you noodle out the final velocity it’s all E=MC2
If the mass is 18000 pounds
Velocity 17,500 MPH
The energy delivered will be
184,278,953,567.31 ft/lbs
Which is equal to a rats ass under 60 tons of TNT
That'sa bigga boom.
No, that would be for nuclear warheads, for the mass converted to energy during detonation.
Once you noodle out the final velocity it’s all E=MC2
Not really. Einstein’s equation will tell you how much energy would be produced if a mass was totally converted to energy. That’s not the same as kinetic energy.
If I was not moving and my body mass was converted to energy, that would result in a positive, non-zero number (too big I’m afraid but working on it).
If I wanted to calculate my kinetic energy, that formula is:
KE = 1/2*(m*v^2)
KE in joules (J)
mass m in kilograms (kg)
velocity v in meters/sec (m/s)
But if I wasn’t moving, no kinetic energy.
Assuming a Rod from God that:
Mass 18,000 lbs or 816.46 kg
Velocity 17,500 mph or 7823.2 m/s
KE = 0.5*(816.46)*(7823.2)*(7823.2) = 24,984,679,527 J
From Wikipedia (I know not the best source but probably correct here), an explosion of 1 metric ton (1000 kg) of TNT is 4.184 Gigajoules (not to be confused with 1.21 Gigawatts for the flux capacitor) or 4,184,000,000 Joules.
So 24,984,679,527 / 4,184,000,000 = 5.97 T TNT.
If you want something that penetrates with a reasonable punch, not too shabby. (assuming that they can put these where they want them)
My 1 1/2 cents,
***Which is equal to a rats ass under 60 tons of TNT
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The US Army had (way back in the day) a launcher that fired an atomic round. It was called the Davy Crockett. The round it fired had a yield somewhere between 10 and 20 tons of TNT.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Davy_Crockett_(nuclear_device)
Warhead equivalents:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W54
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_Atomic_Demolition_Munition
(side note)
Wasn’t there a speculation a while back that someone had “given” a few devices to unfriendly folks in the Middle East?