Acceleration is a key factor in understanding how quickly an object changes its velocity. During a crash scenario, like that of the Genesis spacecraft, the acceleration experienced can be extreme.
This is because the object transitions from a high initial speed to rest over a very short distance.
When everything else is constant, a greater change in velocity over a smaller distance, or shorter time imparts a higher acceleration to the object involved.
To calculate acceleration in the scenario of the spacecraft, we first had to convert the initial velocity to meters per second (m/s).
Using kinematic equations, we input this converted velocity along with the depth to which the spacecraft penetrated the ground.
The primary kinematic equation used was:
- \[ v_f^2 = v_i^2 + 2ad \]
where:
- \( v_f \): final velocity (0 m/s)
- \( v_i \): initial velocity (86.39 m/s)
- \( a \): acceleration (unknown)
- \( d \): distance (0.81 m)
Solving for acceleration gives us an extremely high acceleration in meters per second squared (m/s\(^2\)), which indicates a rapid decrease in speed over the crash impact.
This is further expressed in terms of gravitational forces (g's), emphasizing just how extreme this acceleration was.
"g" corresponds to the acceleration due to gravity, approximately 9.81 m/s\(^2\). To convert the calculated acceleration into g's, divide it by 9.81.