What is the specific role of the thin outer bumper in a Whipple shield upon impact?

Answer

To cause the particle to shatter and vaporize into a plume of high-velocity plasma and fragments

The thin outer bumper causes the impact energy to shatter and vaporize the incoming particle into a dispersed cloud of plasma and fragments.

What is the specific role of the thin outer bumper in a Whipple shield upon impact?

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