AncientEldritch
129943
5094
81
Shamelessly stolen but I haven't seen it here yet.
Nov 8, 2019 12:52 AM
AncientEldritch
129943
5094
81
Shamelessly stolen but I haven't seen it here yet.
RubyMoonNite
DirtPoorFarmerSeedingUsersub
I think Michael Bay bought the rights to this story actually. He is turning it into a trilogy. Just a bunch of loud noises and explosions
godofhorizons
NASA Helios 2 space probe is the fastest man-made object ever. It set a record speed of 157078 mph during the mission.
sevenfingerman
Source? When did this happened?
BlindGardener
As Larry Nivin once wrote: *Klang* "What the fuck was that?!"
bluerazzgummy
The thing is, this just isn’t true. Unfortunately.
GadenKerensky
Apparently this isn't real, the story took on a life of its own and the initial guy who said it refutes it vigorously now.
Acefowl
Donatello: "I bet I could get close to that, if I just reversed the polarity of the Turtle Van's manhole launcher."
RagnarokEOTW
It's a myth; the claimed velocity is actually from a calculation that made huge simplifications.
Iddomehellidevenpay
Whether true or not, everything about this story is fantastic.
neatoburritobandito
Fuckin neato!
JustDontCare
This entire post is why you need to start teaching physics while considering air resistance. Even if it went that fast. It would slow down.
StephenDaniels
If this were true an ant falling off the Empire State building would drive a person into the ground like a hammer hitting a nail.
MegaDeuce
I've seen the original source for this story as well. It's based on *one* frame from a high speed camera and is a back-of-the-envelope type
MegaDeuce
calculation from a scientist working on the project. IIRC he ignores air resistance.
Lightslinger42
Total BS. If it was moving at 125,000mph it would have definitely burned up before leaving the atmosphere. Only meteor to leave earth tho..
Axlegear
Iron based minerals are one of the few that regularly DON'T burn up in the atmosphere. Most actual impacts are meteoric iron.
NacLac
This needs to be an easter egg in some space game. Random encounter where a manhole cover just nails your ship.
Motherearthlovesyou
I love science!
ArniePye
I’m fairly certain the manhole cover didn’t continuously propel itself at 125,000 mph and also that a speed camera could even read that
WarningThisElectricianMayShockYou
Helios 2 solar probe's speed is 150,000 mph
CaptainClarification
It actually peaked at like 253k mph in 1973
Nosspott
I am dubious if only because I’m fairly certain a normal iron manhole cover being accelerated to that speed that fast would be obliterated
pizzapartyhard
Air resistance can’t melt iron manhole covers!
Nosspott
But maybe I’m wrong, I’m no scientist
kaiken1987
Ya that's the real answer is that it was vaporized by the atmosphere, but hey never let the truth get in the way of a good story
fitlex
Yeah, if things burn up coming into the atmosphere at these speeds, a manhole cover would burn out going through the entire atmosphere
oumajgad
Guy who did those tests said it was flying so fast that it move out of atmosphere before burning, but there's now way to be 100% sure.
scrantonphys
It has recently been topped: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parker_Solar_Probe
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scrantonphys
Sep 117:50 UTC, Perihelion #3: 95 km/s ~ 200,000 mph right?
ctriis87
Technically that one hasn't reached this speed yet has it?
StewedTomaters
It's at 212,000 mph currently
ctriis87
Ah, got the record already then.
Glitterfartjuice
YEET!
Sh4dowWalker96
Yeetimus maximus.
ColossalDM
This is a whole new breed of yeet. This is like, the “whomst’d’ve” of yeet in its absurdity.
Commentsaboutyourusername
Just keep it inside. Don't yeet anything please
shmoogeeoogee
What's yeeted cant be un yote
brycecomatt0
No.
kuramia
THEORY: eventually, that manhole cover will hit something, somewhere, way out in deep space, and cause some serious fn damage. Just like 1/2
kuramia
a meteor. much like the one that hit earth millions of years ago, that eventually terraformed the earth. So my theory becomes: what if 2/3
kuramia
the meteor that hit the earth millions of years ago was just an alien manhole cover that some dumbass alien blew into space accidentally 3/4
kuramia
and unwittingly caused the rise of a new civilization, and us launching a manhole into space is just the next step in an endless pinball 4/5
kuramia
game of terraforming planets, and paving the way to new life, simply by blowing shit up. Just the way God intended.
teufelpup
Brilliant. Sign me up. At least there’s some scientific basis that means it’s theoretically possible. More than I can say for religion..
EvillBob
Pretty sure that the air friction at that kind of speed in lower atmosphere would cause the manhole cover to melt.
ImNotTaylorSwift
Pretty sure that the story made my manhole melt.
NiceGuysFinishPabst
You are correct, drag is indeed a thing.
wobblecopterrrr
I’m gonna bet it got real hot and pulled apart real quick
YouCanotBlockMyStyle
1/2 MH covers r round so along as wasnt topling end over end the shockwave will keep the compressed superheated air from the surface
YouCanotBlockMyStyle
2/2 Mhc was traveling over 55 km/s so it will pass the karman line in less than 2 sec. The faster a round object moves the further shokwv is
EvillBob
It doesn't matter how it's flying; 2 seconds at 200 kilometers per second is gonna vaporize a 300 lbs iron disk.
ijoinedtoolate
I hope this manhole cover is the deus ex machina in an interstellar war sometime in the future.
IDidntThinkItWouldBeThisHard
The REAL reason the Death Star exploded
NZSheeps
Or sideswipes Elon's Tesla
DirtPoorFarmerSeedingUsersub
Haha. In the middle of interplanetary space and a manhole cover from a road hits a car that drives on a road. In space
consecutivenormalpunches
You can't take the skies from me
TakuanSoho
DarmokAndJaladWhenTheMemesFell
Burn the land and boil the sea.
TardisRiptide
Like a leaf on the wind!
consecutivenormalpunches
Watch me fl---
antftwx
Thanks, now I'm sad!
PuppyLord
*Like a radioactive manhole cover on the wind! ;)
hellsgunslinger
Beat me to it
FreemansRedHotRebar
I will If that's what you're into I guess.. Sure. My rates are flexible. Mask on? Or off?
hellsgunslinger
Gotta at least buy me dinner first
consecutivenormalpunches
I feel very good about this
wobblecopterrrr
https://io9.gizmodo.com/no-a-nuclear-explosion-did-not-launch-a-manhole-cover-1715340946
CheskoSebulbaChaPookaUmanGeesaMatisaRaticoPonipaChopChowa
There are articles arguing both points of view.
theokaychick
This makes me sad. I wanted it to be true, damn it. Take all the fun out it.
wobblecopterrrr
It might have flown off like a frisbee into orbit.. he didn’t say it was impossible.
Imdead124
Well, this doesn't say that it didn't happen, just that the guy who did the calculation is a grump about it.
wobblecopterrrr
Yup, that’s where I stopped looking, i mean.. it’s not like anyone found it...
weirdgur
Don't let the facts get in the way of a good story.
Konoton
Oof, true.
AwkwardKaffs
That's basically the moral of "the things they carried"
OtterlyMagnificent
Now, that said, it DID still send a 900Kg metal plate upwards at a sufficient velocity that it was only caught in one frame. It PROBABLY1/
OtterlyMagnificent
got vaporized by the atmosphere, because that's what happens to things when they exceed the speeds at which air can get out of the way. 2/
OtterlyMagnificent
Mach 33 is Escape Velocity. 1/10th of that is sufficient to set the nose of a plane literally BUILT to minimize friction and maximize 3/
TakuanSoho
A plane nose isn't a single 900kg piece of steel. As a black I could heat an foundry to 2000°C and it would still take more than 5 min to >>
TakuanSoho
>>melt such a mass. Also, meteorites (with iron core, way more easier to melt) hit the ground every year and a lot don't weight so much >>
OtterlyMagnificent
speed, aflame, and heat it to the point where expansion becomes a serious concern, in that heat-buckling could cause a catastrophic failure4
OtterlyMagnificent
and that is the FASTEST a non-rocket craft is capable of travelling. The fastest MANNED ships only do 7.8km/s, 3.3km/s LESS than this 5/
DirtPoorFarmerSeedingUsersub
Tooling around the web. Kinetic E calc yields the effect of 2 Father of All Bombs from one manhole cover.
DirtPoorFarmerSeedingUsersub
150kg mass going 150k mph.
dogfavoriter
So a nuclear blast that was much smaller than FOAB somehow gave a manhole cover kinetic energy equivalent to 2 FOAB? This doesn't add up.
Blutsaugher
It makes more sense when you take into account that all that energy was concentrated to push a tiny manhole cover. Kinda like guns work.
dogfavoriter
A blast with less than 50MT of total energy can't give something over 100MT worth of kinetic energy, no matter how well it's focused.
Blutsaugher
You're right, my bad. It seems we kinda forgot that FOAB, although it's a huge bomb, is not nearly as powerful as nuke. So I guess that's it
DirtPoorFarmerSeedingUsersub
Megajoules is my unit which is smaller than megaton
DirtPoorFarmerSeedingUsersub
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Father_of_All_Bombs
DirtPoorFarmerSeedingUsersub
https://www.cnn.com/videos/world/2017/04/18/father-of-all-bombs-moab-russia-orig-ev.cnn
DirtPoorFarmerSeedingUsersub
So one manhole cover doing twice this damage!
AncientEldritch
Not to us!
DirtPoorFarmerSeedingUsersub
WehWehWeh
It’s interesting but it’s also tumblr so I’m not convinced anything in that post is true in any way.
turelhimvampire
Essentially, it's not possible to prove or disprove it. https://youtu.be/1hABwCY6g2U
montyman185
The high speed camera part is total crap, the legend comes from speculation about how fast the
montyman185
Could have been launched, but that is pretty much just bored napkin math as it would have likely been vaporized
ST3RBEN
Nah it's a real thing that happened, it was some nuclear test underground done by the United States, can't remember why though
ThePenisEnthusiast
To destroy the mole people's empire.
ST3RBEN
Ah yes, my mistake
RichAndWilling
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Plumbbob not a manhole cover, many times larger, probably burnt up in atmosphere
bluerazzgummy
It’s not.
factcheckmate
Also they are calculating manhole travels at the same speed. Just as it leaves Earth atmosphere its speed would drop a lot
BearBombs
I'm also confused how they positioned the manhole outside of the vaporization zone, but close to the shockwave and at the right angle.
ClaptrapIsLoveClaptrapIsLife
It was the top of a loooooong narrow hole, at the bottom of which was the nuke. Air compression likely did the trick rather than the blast
Brhino
It's typical tumbler: bit of urban legend, bit of partial truth, then a bunch of breathless exaggeration.
cherdadub
I only hate this because it's too true.
whyWontKeiraKnightleyReturnMyPhoneCalls
DID YOU JUST
ToasterDent
This describes nearly every political pundit who later claims that they're "only an entertainer" later under oath in court.
ragekritz
yeah but as long as we know that, it's still entertaining to read even if it's likely not accurate.
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TehSeksyManz
I'm the same way with booze
TehSeksyManz
EveryonesCousin
Slapping fables around like truth is how boomers got that reputation in the first place.
BillyBobThortonHearsaRogerDaltrey
Ok, zoomer...
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EarthDragon2189
Getting interested in science isn't good if it's bad fake science.
IdentifiesAnime
I like that you used the ok boomer line, and then when they used almost the same thing back, you got angry and defensive
EveryonesCousin
This is the adult equivalent of throwing a rock at your brother and then crying when he gets mad
sacrosanctt
Account since 2012. 50 points. This is just some loser punks whiney ass troll account he uses to vent his pent up REEEEEs like a coward
wobblecopterrrr
If we knew the date, time, and location, we could figure out where it is.
StarkRG
It most likely burned up before it left the atmosphere.
wobblecopterrrr
It probably spun a bunch and flew apart
slurpeesandstuff
ElSuperbeasto
Humans are such an interesting species!
UpvoteTotem
Might need a trajectory
wobblecopterrrr
Assuming it was level, that’s probably as close as we’re getting.
soromon
What about the angle it was traveling? If it was acute enough, is it possible it shed speed in atmo and didn't leave the solar system?
Skywalker2416
Doppler effect. Only helps if you know when the trajectory started. It all has a red-shift as it’s passing away... only *when tells you when
pyr666
unlikely. figuring out how much energy it lost in the atmosphere means an object smaller than a person could be in any number of orbits
LiterallyYourMom
You'd also have to account for the movement of the solar system within the galaxy, and whether a gas giant's mass altered its trajectory.
wobblecopterrrr
Sounds like a fun puzzle huh‽
LiterallyYourMom
Considering the way it handles incoming objects, it's entirely possible that Jupiter has a manhole cover for a moon right now.
wobblecopterrrr
Musk is gonna have one helluvah insurance claim...
ComcastLover
Unless it hit something.
wobblecopterrrr
How old is ur mom?...
ComcastLover
close to 60
wobblecopterrrr
Daaaaaamn! That’s a big ass baby!...
ComcastLover
I don't understand
delicatepeasant
Actually, it is usually sufficient to know a thing's location in order to figure out where that thing is.
wobblecopterrrr
DYLANLEE79
You might need more than that for an exact location.
Darjanator
Yeah, we need a velocity.
wobblecopterrrr
Mmhmm, fun puzzle though
CheskoSebulbaChaPookaUmanGeesaMatisaRaticoPonipaChopChowa
August 27, 1957, Nevada test was conducted at night.
DocZero
So we beat Sputnik. NIIIIIICE!
metalfoto
Thx
Yotarian
So then, give or take a few thousand miles, that manhole is approximately in space.
maxredspeed3
I mean, you're not wrong.
BenGoodal
Unless it hit the moon. Which is even funnier if they find it stuck in a new crater at some point.
DJGnarly
That's good, if it was done during the day space would have been on the wrong side of the planet.
UncleShrimp
Dude, I'm at work. You can't just make me randomly laugh like that. Not cool.
RTK4740
Huruga
i mean if it would have been day time it could have potentially went straight into the sun
DrunkenChekhov
DJGnarly
It would have just ended up in the daytime sky.
fiftydollarbill
What’s your vector, Victor?
DarmokAndJaladWhenTheMemesFell
We have clearance, Clarence.
MollyNapQueen
Roger, Roger.
davetrue78
That’s Clarence Oveur, over
Ryebread91
Huh?
mni905
Damn... I wanted to say "Roger, Roger"
DarmokAndJaladWhenTheMemesFell
gablestout
Huh?
Cineric
Watch those wrist rockets!
CrankyCook
Around 545,231hours Aug27,1957 x 125000mph=68165125000m away 109701134928km=0.0115 light years Pluto and back 14.5 times.Give or take So far
JayEnfield
If we conservatively take half that number and figure that it averaged 100,000kph for 62 years, it'd be about 54 light-hours away.
JayEnfield
For reference, Voyager 1 is currently about 12 light-hours away.
Bizarkly
Over a hundredth of a lightyear *already* -- impressive!
wherewehavebeen
Amazing job.
CoBr2
Missing the speed loss from escaping solar system. Just because it’s above escape velocity doesn’t mean it isn’t slowed escaping
Josiahkf
but if it was heading in a direction ~180 degrees towards our sun, it would increase in speed as it got closer and only slow down passing it
daromander
And slow down by the same amount of gained by the time it reached the Earth's distance from the sun. So doesn't matter much which direction
CoBr2
Sure, but it would lose 30,000 mph by the time it's out of the solar system and by 18X the distance from Pluto it's lost most of that.
HappyTrafic
It's only loosing 30,000 mph over the course of an hour. Its traveling 4 times that speed and left our solar system in about 15 minutes.
PunnyTiger
so yeah, Voyager was NOT the first man made object to leave the solar system
CoBr2
Depending on your definition of solar system, Voyager still hasn’t left. (The end of solar system isn’t clearly defined)
PunnyTiger
yeah, I've read at least three articles about Voyager having left the solar system, first passing pluto's orbit, then two other milestones.
DefinitelyNotMadeOfBees
That assumes it didn't bleed any speed to air resistance as it left the atmosphere. Without knowing its trajectory, we can't calculate that.
MIKUWEPTDANKMEMES
That’s also ignoring the possibility that it’s buried 5 miles into a mountainside
TinyLiehon
We got one frame of its trajectory. We need the CSI team to enhance! Enhance I tell you!
SwanTayle
I mean starting position to position in frame would give us at least a good idea right??
TinyLiehon
What were the wind patterns that day? I'm thinking phwoomph with a whole lot of twirling
SwanTayle
Can we measure how wide the show is by the number of pixels in the manhole cover to total number of pixels wide or does the fov affect this
pookieeatworld
Have to figure out how wide the shot was, too, because the info we're given is that it was sitting still one frame, the next it's in motion>
Lightslinger42
Probably almost no air resistance at all actually. Blast front is pushing all the air at 125000mph. Manhole cover is just riding the wave.
j4zmon
125000 mph = 34.72 miles/sec. Air resistance only really matters in bottom 10 miles of atmosphere, which it would have passed in 1/3 sec.
DefinitelyNotMadeOfBees
Fair, but if it was at angle, that 10 miles could become 100. You're probably right, I'm just pointing out other variables.
j4zmon
Manhole covers are designed to lay horizontal. Even if it were at like 75 degrees for some reason it'd still only be 40-ish miles to space.
NaughtButOne
It punched through the atmosphere in a couple seconds. Speed loss was probably negligible.
Daealis
I mean we also didn't consider other planets. Is it a crater on Mars? Did it get a gravity assist off Jupiter? It might be going faster!
IamNotAshamed
Very unlikely.
teufelpup
wrinklednutsack
What is this Pluto that you talk of?
PunnyTiger
"Your MOM thought I was big enough!" Pluto.
Pherlin
It's no moon.
CHarbringer
Moons haunted
gablestout
Pherlin
What do you mean?
PineappleIsDeliciousOnPizzaFightMe
Just because it's not classified as a planet doesn't mean it ceased to exist. XD
PunnyTiger
it regained planetary status a few years ago
CaptainHyperbole
Some of us are that petty.
WinstonSmith101
Well fuck that particular astronomical society that downgraded its status.