Silicate cosmic dust grain collisions in the interstellar medium: A molecular dynamics study
Molecular dynamics simulations tested how silicate dust grains shatter when colliding at various speeds in space. The study found that the shattering threshold is about 6 km/s, which is twice the standard value of 2.7 km/s. Results show that collisions lead to coagulation below 5 km/s and significant disruption above this speed, suggesting interstellar dust is more resilient than previously thought.