Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 25, 2026

Visualization of High Speed Liquid Jet Impaction on a Moving Surface
Published on: April 17, 2015
Ray Systems and Craters Generated by the Impact of Nonspherical Projectiles
1Instituto de Física, Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, Apartado Postal J-48, Puebla 72570, Mexico.
Abstract:
The impact of a spherical projectile on an evened-out granular bed generates a uniform ejecta of material and a crater with a raised circular rim. Recently, Sabuwala et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 120, 264501 (2018)PRLTAO0031-900710.1103/PhysRevLett.120.264501] found that the uniform blanket of ejecta changes to a set of radial streaks when a spherical body impacts on an undulated granular surface, being a plausible explanation to the enigmatic ray systems on planetary bodies. Here, we show that ray systems can also be generated by the impact of nonspherical projectiles on a flat granular surface. This is a reasonable explanation considering that meteorites are rarely spherical. Moreover, by impacting bodies of different geometries, we show that the crater size follows the same power-law scaling with the impact energy found for spherical projectiles, and the crater rim becomes circular as the impact energy is increased regardless of the projectile shape, which helps to understand why most impact craters in nature are rounded.
Related Concept Videos
Projectile Motion: Example
When we speak of the range (R) of a projectile on...
Motion of a Projectile
Horizontal motion, governed by the initial kick, maintains a constant velocity throughout the flight of the soccer ball.
Projectile Motion
When an object falls under gravity and has no...
Projectile Motion: Equations
Any projectile motion problem can be solved by using the following strategy:
X-ray Crystallography
Diffraction
Diffraction is the change in the direction of travel experienced by an electromagnetic wave when it encounters a physical barrier whose dimensions are comparable to those of the wavelength of the light. X-rays are electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths about as long as the distance between neighboring...
Impact of Groups on Groups

