Oooops
I think I did my calculations wrong, then.
I was thiking (for the more dense material) of 7.9 grams per cm3 being equal to 7.9 kg per 10 m3.
(Just multiplying each by 1,000)
But I think I did the basic math wrong. Let me try that again.
7.9 grams * 1000 = 7900 grams = 7.9 kg
1 cm3 * 1000 = 10 m3
Wait, what am I missing?
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-----Original Message-----
From: "constantine_thomas_uk"
Date: Sun, 23 May 2010 17:34:11
Subject: [Traveller_TNE] Re: Volume:Mass for asteroid
Oh nvm, found it:
> Hey all. Anyone know what an acceptable Volume to Mass ratio would
> be for an asteroid? I realize it varries substancially based on what
> kind of ore is in it, but I was just wondering what an average might
> look like. (Kinda like how cargo is assumed to be 1:1 by default,
> unless specified otherwise.)
Far Trader is mostly right. When it comes to materials, asteroids are generally either rocky or metallic, so you'd expect density to be about 3300 kg/m³ for the rockies or about 7900 kg/m³ for the metallics.
However, a lot of asteroids seem to be "porous" in that they have lots of spaces inside them, probably because they are actually "rubble piles" - lots of smaller bodies held together by their very low gravity and covered in a surface layer of dust. This 'porosity' decreases the density significantly, pushing it down to as low as 1300 kg/m³ for a porous rocky asteroid. Ice can lower the density too, but if an asteroid contains a lot of ice then it's probably better to call it a cometary body.