METEORIC FLUX AND DENSITY FIELDS ABOUT A FINITE ATTRACTIVE CENTER GENERATED BY A STREAM MONOENERGETIC AND MONODIRECTIONAL AT INFINITY

摘要

Detailed meteoric flux and particle density field patterns generated by a meteoric stream, monodirectional and monoenergetic at infinity, incident upon a finite attractive center are derived and exhibited. Flux and density contours are obtained for a series of incident speeds spanning the entire range of established meteoric stream velocities. The development reveals the existence of five sectors about the attractive center. In some, flux is unscattered;in others, the flux is scattered;in one, the flux is both unscattered and scattered;in another, the null cone, there is no flux. All sectors including the null cone were treated in detail. An explicit theoretical explanation of abrupt discontinuities in flux and enhanced particulate concentrations near the earth, both of which are observed in rocket and satellite experiments, is given.