What is Spallation?
[[File:Spallation.gif|thumb|right|Spallation because of impact can happen with or without penetration of the impacting object. Click on image for animation]] '''Spallation''' is a process whereby [[material]] is released from a body because of impact or [[Stress (mechanics)|stress]]. In [[Impact (mechanics)|impact mechanics]], it is the release of material from a target during impact by a [[projectile]]. In planetary physics, it is the impact of a meteoroid on the [[surface]] of a [[planet]] and the effects of [[Solar wind|solar winds]] and [[Cosmic ray|cosmic rays]] on the atmosphere and surface of planets. In [[anthropology]], spallation is a process used to make stone tools by [[knapping]]. In [[nuclear physics]], spallation is the process in which a heavy [[nucleus]] releases many [[Nucleon|nucleons]] because it has been hit by a high-energy [[particle]], thereby reducing its [[atomic weight]]. {{Physics-stub}} [[Category:Nuclear physics]]