article_snippet: But their study also reveals the tricky physics of travelling at near light speeds, calculating that a collision with single dust grain would release energy equal to 5291lbs (2,400kg) of exploding TNT.
article_snippet: Assuming an effective cross-sectional area of say 100 square meters, the dissipative effect is about two million Joules per second,' said Yurtsever and Wilkinson in their study.
article_snippet: Seconds last longer when travelling at high speed so the energy dissipation is higher too at around 10^14 Joules per second. '
article_snippet: As well as drag, a single cosmic dust grain with a mass of 10^-(14) grams would release about 10,000 megajoules worth of energy if about 10,000 megajoules the spacecraft.
article_snippet: The engineers explain that is the same amount of energy released by 2,400 kilograms of exploding TNT. '
highlights_snippet: A collision with a single dust grain would release energy equal to 5291lbs (2,400kg) of exploding TNT .