Granular temperature as an energy dissipation mechanism in bodies of the Solar System

There is theoretical and observational evidence that asteroids and comets are conglomerations of particles ranging in size from dust grains to boulders. It is well known that energy added to such systems is dissipated by friction, plasticity and fracture. In addition to these physical phenomena, we find that energy can be dissipated in the form of particle kinetic energy due to random velocity distributions. 'Dissipation' in this manner is measured by what is called a granular temperature owing to its similarities with kinetic gas theory. This work has implications on our understanding of the growth of asteroids and comets.