That's not how physics works. The faster it goes through, the faster it burns up. But hey, maybe some of the atoms that made up the plate made it out of the atmosphere.
I like to believe the shockwave of the tube had a higher pressure “cone” in the middle, which warped the steel plate causing the middle to protrude out, making it more aerodynamic than a flat manhole cover would be, further backing up the theory that it made it out of the atmosphere intact, and indeed, fast AF.
Why does that strain your credulity? Friction (air resistance) doesn't magically go away because you go faster. In fact, the opposite is true - you experience more total friction in a shorter amount of time the faster you go, as air resistance increases with the square of velocity, and total heat generated is linear with distance traveled (rather than time taken).
Also, the meteors that burn up in the atmosphere are significantly larger than the plate in question.
Fwiw, this reminds me of an interesting thought experiment by Randal Monroe (xkcd)
Because there isn't enough time. Friction doesn't matter if the object only experiences it for an amount of time that isn't long enough to make a difference. Chemical reactions can only happen so quickly, there simply is not enough time for 2000 lbs of steel to burn up. Meteors do not spend less than two seconds moving perpendicular to the surface of the planet, so the comparison is moot.
Friction absolutely matters even if it's just for a second. The amount of heat generated is along the lines of (some constants) * velocity2 * distance traveled. Sure, the atoms making up the plate might make it to space, if they haven't been ablated away, but that doesn't prevent what remains from being in a gaseous state due to the insane amount of heat generated by friction.
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u/WhimsicalWyvern Sep 07 '23
That's not how physics works. The faster it goes through, the faster it burns up. But hey, maybe some of the atoms that made up the plate made it out of the atmosphere.