What if a massive rock slammed into the ocean at the speed of sound? No science fiction. No exaggeration. Just physics, math, and real-world consequences.
We’ll start small and scale up — from a 2-meter rock to a 500-meter space object — all impacting the ocean at 343 m/s (Mach 1).
🪨 Scenario 1: A 2-Meter Rock
- 📏 Diameter: 2 meters
- ⚖️ Mass: ~11,300 kg
- 💥 Energy: ~660 MJ (≈ 160 kg of TNT)
What happens?
- 🌊 Water column shoots 30–50 meters into the air
- 🐟 Local marine shockwave
- 🚫 No tsunami
- 📍 Effects limited to ~200 meters
👉 Comparable to a strong underwater industrial explosion.
⚡ Scenario 2: A 10-Meter Rock
- 📏 Diameter: 10 meters
- ⚖️ Mass: ~1,400 tons
- 💥 Energy: ~82 GJ (≈ 20 tons of TNT)
Impact effects:
- 🌊 Water plume over 100 meters
- 📡 Detectable by seismic sensors
- 🚢 Severe damage to nearby ships
- 🌍 Small coastal waves if impact is near land
👉 Still localized — but now dangerous.
🔥 Scenario 3: A 50-Meter Rock
- 📏 Diameter: 50 meters
- ⚖️ Mass: ~175,000 tons
- 💥 Energy: ~10 TJ (≈ 2,500 tons of TNT)
Consequences:
- 🌊 Temporary ocean crater
- 🌊 Waves 5–10 meters near impact
- 🏖️ Local coastal flooding
- 🐠 Massive marine life loss
👉 Comparable to a tactical nuclear explosion (without radiation).
☢️ Scenario 4: A 100-Meter Rock
- 📏 Diameter: 100 meters
- ⚖️ Mass: ~1.4 million tons
- 💥 Energy: ~80 TJ (≈ Hiroshima-scale)
What follows:
- 🌊 Regional mini-tsunami
- 🏙️ Port and coastal infrastructure destroyed
- 🚨 Evacuations required
- 🌫️ Atmosphere filled with vaporized seawater
👉 A regional catastrophe.
☄️ Scenario 5: A 500-Meter Rock
- 📏 Diameter: 500 meters
- 💥 Energy: 2,000+ kilotons of TNT
Planet-level effects:
- 🌍 Tsunamis crossing entire oceans
- 🏙️ Coastal megacities destroyed
- 🌡️ Temporary climate disruption
- 🌫️ Sky darkened by steam and debris
👉 Not an extinction event — but a moment that would reshape human history.
🧠 Final Reality Check
- 🟢 2–10 m: Local, dramatic, survivable
- 🟠 50–100 m: Regional disaster
- 🔴 500 m: Global shockwave
The speed of sound alone is enough to unleash extreme destruction — no cosmic speeds required.
Physics doesn’t need imagination. Reality is already terrifying.