In movies at least, astronauts in desperate times have mentioned that unless they get to a certain angle or re-entry window, they would bounce off the atmosphere into space. What’s the science behind that? What conditions have to be perfect for re-entry and why?
In: Physics
The faster you encounter something, the “harder” it behaves.
For example, dropping into a swimming pool from a diving board is fun, but dropping into a swimming pool from 25,000 feet would be fatal. At that speed, the water can’t deform fast enough for a soft impact. It acts the same as if you’d fallen into steel.
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