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246 points world2vec | 1 comments | | HN request time: 0s | source
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ElijahLynn ◴[] No.44358034[source]
"While not a hard edge, or a "wall" as it has sometimes been called, here both spacecraft measured temperatures of 30,000-50,000 kelvin (54,000-90,000 degrees Fahrenheit), which is why it is sometimes also referred to as a "wall of fire". The craft survived the wall as, though the particles they measured were extremely energetic, the chances of collision in this particle-sparse region of space are so low that not enough heat could be transferred to the duo."
replies(2): >>44358048 #>>44358320 #
dogma1138 ◴[] No.44358048[source]
Is there a chance this is an instrument error? Seems a strange phenomenon.
replies(3): >>44358122 #>>44358224 #>>44358743 #
1. gmueckl ◴[] No.44358224[source]
This isn't strange at all, but rather an artifact of the nature of heat energy in a medium. Heat is the uncorrelated movement of particles that evens out to zero effective velocity. Temperature is the measure of the velocity magnitude of these individual particles. This is independent of the medium's density.