# Catastrophic Disruption of Hollow Ice Spheres

Harriss, K.H., Burchell, Mark J. (2020) Catastrophic Disruption of Hollow Ice Spheres. The Planetary Science Journal, 1 (1). p. 19. E-ISSN 2632-3338. (doi:10.3847/PSJ/ab8f34) (KAR id:81521)

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https://doi.org/10.3847/PSJ/ab8f34

## Abstract

Catastrophic disruption is a possible outcome of high-speed collisions in the solar system. The critical energy density Q* (impact energy/mass of the target), which is taken to mark the onset of catastrophic disruption, occurs when the largest intact fragment post-impact is 50% of the original target mass. Studies of Q* usually suppose the target body is a solid, rigid object. However, what if the body has a rigid shell and a hollow interior? Here, hollow ice spheres (a diameter of 19–20 cm with an ice thickness of 2.5–3.6 cm) were impacted at speeds up to ∼5 km/s. Catastrophic disruption occurred at Q* ∼ 25.5 ± 0.5 J kg−1, greater than that for similar size solid, or water-filled ice spheres (16–18 J kg−1). However, while the Q* value has increased, the actual impact energy associated with the new value of Q* has not, and the change in Q* arises due to the lower mass of the hollow target bodies

Item Type: Article 10.3847/PSJ/ab8f34 [UNSPECIFIED] Planetary Science at the University of Kent Impact phenomena, Jovian and Saturnian satellites, catastrophic disruption Q Science > QB Astronomy > QB651 Planets, Minor Faculties > Sciences > School of Physical Sciences > Centre for Astrophysics and Planetary Sciences Mark Burchell 04 Jun 2020 09:25 UTC 14 Jul 2020 10:24 UTC https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/81521 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes) https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5854-580X https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2680-8943