Many people believe that outer space is a dangerous environment for humans.
In fact, massive explosions occur in this darkness.
It’s enormous and mysterious enough that people can anticipate danger from it.
Dangers could come from massive fast-moving asteroids and comets, as well as the presence
of many black holes, which could potentially be the reason for the destruction of our planet
Earth.
But in this video, instead of talking about large asteroids and comets, let's talk about
something small: a sewing needle.
What do you think will happen if it flies across space at the speed of light before
colliding with our planet?
According to science, any object made of matter cannot travel at the speed of light and not
even faster than that.
That is why NASA scientists have never considered this situation.
But in this video, I'll show you what would happen if something unusual actually happened.
Today, you'll learn how a small thing can be extremely harmful when it moves quickly,
and how it can bring our beloved world to an end.
Do you know that the Earth is constantly being hit by many cosmic bodies?
It’s just that we aren’t seeing most of it because it burns right away when it enters
the atmosphere.
However, there are exceptions to this.
Some cosmic bodies reached the Earth’s visibility zone, making everyone notice them.
Consider the Chelyabinsk meteor, often known as the asteroid that caused the extinction
of the dinosaurs.
It's important to note that all of these heavenly bodies move at a relatively slow rate, which
is understandable given the vastness of the universe.
In the case of the Chelyabinsk meteor, it was traveling at a speed of 60 to 69 thousand
kilometers per hour, or 37 to 43 thousand miles per hour.
What if scientists one day convey bad news about an unknown object approaching the Earth
at the speed of light?
Let's imagine that the object hitting the Earth is as little as a needle or a grain
of sand.
If you’re now laughing and thinking that this won't be a big deal and that you shouldn't
be concerned, you're mistaken.
Remember that what appears to be impossible at first might be the most dangerous.
The most threatening factor in the case of the little needle hitting the Earth is its
speed.
Consider this: if a car collides with a person that is traveling at a speed of roughly 50
kilometers per hour or 31 miles per hour, the individual can survive.
However, if it happens that the car is traveling at 65 kilometers per hour or 40 miles per
hour, the person with whom the car crashed could die or suffer serious injuries.
See, the outcomes are different due to the speed.
Continuing, light travels at a speed of over 300,000 kilometers per second, or 186,000
miles per second.
At this speed, only visible light, gravitational waves, and other types of electromagnetic
radiation can travel.
Objects that weigh heavy cannot travel at this speed, but they can come close to this.
In the Large Hadron Collider, for example, protons are accelerated to near light speed,
so a needle or a grain of sand can approach the Earth near the speed of light as well.
The length of the simplest sewing needle is roughly 35 millimeters or about one in four-tenths
of an inch.
A huge particle of sand can be five millimeters in diameter or nineteen hundreds of an inch,
whereas the Chelyabinsk meteor had a diameter of roughly twenty meters or 66 feet.
Even if the difference between these diameters is huge, it barely matters in this scenario.
When an object moves at a fast pace, even if it is small, it has the potential to be
fatal.
Unlike the celestial bodies I discussed previously, they will not burn up in the atmosphere or
explode quietly when it reaches the surface.
What happens is that the molecules that keep an object together won’t function.
Because of this, a grain of sand or a needle becomes nothing more than a cluster of atoms
traveling through the air.
Aside from this, the real threat is kinetic energy.
Let’s take into consideration the kinetic energy of a particle of sand that has nearly
reached the speed of light.
Well, that would be equal to the kinetic energy of an object that is weighing 100 tons, and
that is the same as falling from a 15-story building.
To understand this easier, imagine the Statue of Liberty's portion falling off its pedestal
in one single swoop; that's the equivalent.
Given all of this, it's difficult to determine whether scientists will notice if a needle
traveling at the speed of light collides with the Earth.
If it crashed with the Earth's surface, all of the kinetic energy would be converted into
the energy of the explosion.
The energy released will be comparable to that of a nuclear bomb, roughly 43 kilotons
of TNT, and this is not something we should underestimate.
Take, for example, the bomb Fat Man on Nagasaki, which had a capacity of roughly 21 kilotons.
Yes, a simple needle can be compared to a nuclear bomb capable of destroying an entire
city.
Let's look at New York as a model of the destruction that such a collision may cause.
If a needle moving at the speed of light strikes, the majority of Manhattan and the surrounding
area would be destroyed, just like what an atomic bomb can cause if it was dropped in
the same place with the same magnitude.
In addition, the windows of the building have the potential to break even at a distance
of 4 kilometers or about 2 and a half miles, which means that there would be more disaster
for those who were a little closer to the center.
Within a month, people who are within 1.5 kilometers or less than a mile of where the
object lands are likely to die.
Because of the explosion, the needle bomb can also go below the Earth, leaving a massive
crater.
This will undoubtedly make the Statue of Liberty collapse from where it’s located.
However, there's another way the needle could break into the Earth.
Though it’s not scientific, it’s really interesting.
The needle might slam into the planet and go into the Earth's crust.
It will then create a hole from its entering side, then a plasma cloud will spread to the
sides.
Energy and numerous particles generated by the impact with the Earth's crust will go
out through the planet's body.
It’s as if a massive fountain containing all the matter that makes up our planet will
be created.
The temperature will increase in a split second and no one will be able to survive.
The energy will be so high that it will surpass the energy of the planet's gravitational coupling.
Can you now understand the end of this?
Earth will be ripped apart due to an explosion.
This also suggests that due to a single needle, the solar system that we know today may change
forever.
Keep in mind that all of these scenarios are hypothetical, thus there is a possibility
that a different situation may occur.
According to physicists, the needle will simply penetrate the Earth because of its tremendous
kinetic energy and massive inertia, and nothing serious might happen.
This travel of the needle to the center of the Earth would happen so quickly, unable
to be noticed by anyone.
The needle will leave the planet on the other side and back into space.
Earthquakes may occur due to the interaction between the mantle and the Earth's crust.
But don’t worry!
Because these shakes won’t be powerful.
Given this scenario, there is a high possibility that humanity can still manage to survive.
But what could happen if the needle doesn't hit the ground or even the water and instead
hits a person?
Although there is a minimal probability that this may occur, it is still possible, therefore
it is necessary to consider it.
The needle would feel as though it were the Statue of Liberty falling on your head.
You may now be thinking that there’s no way for you to survive.
Well, I think so because the needle's kinetic energy will be extremely high, and once your
body absorbs it, it will simply explode.
However, physics has a different opinion on this situation.
The needle will quickly begin to disrupt all the bonds between cells of your body the moment
it comes into touch with the skin.
That is due to its tremendous energy and small size.
The rest of your body will feel numb.
The needle will simply pass through your body, wasting a small amount of its energy in friction
and raising your temperature slightly.
The needle can make a nearly perfect hole in your body, but oddly, no vital organs will
be damaged, at least not badly, and the wound will most likely be cauterized.
So, are you now scared of needles that travel at the speed of light?
Well, I believe the decision is still yours to make.
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