[humanbydefault]

What would happen if the moon suddenly broke up in a bunch of pieces...?

Case No 1>>> All the pieces would continue spinning around the planet Earth in different orbits as if nothing would happen.
Case No 2>>> All the pieces will fall into the surface of the host planet [Earth] like meteorites causing the destruction of our world as it is now.
Case No 3>>> Perhaps one of the pieces will join the Earth falling like a meteorite or asteroid and causing a lot of damage [end of life on Earth including us] but the rest of the pieces will continue the rotation as satellites and gravity will change altogether.
There may be more options but I believe that the final answer is hidden in one of those 3 alternatives.

Before giving you my version I'd like to underline some of the aspects of gravity the way "I see it" {I repeat} >the way I see it and not the way Eisntein or Newton would...ok?<
Since G R A V I T Y was the result of an "attractive force" which center lies at the very core of our planet... just as with the rest of them in the solar system... A hypothetical destruction or desintegration of [our natural satellite] the moon would bring an interesting opportunity to finally compensate for the "missing mass" that would bring BALANCE into the orbit.
Assuming that one of the resulting pieces were the exact match of the needed mass [one missing in the overall mass of Earth] an eventual fusion of both would take care of the natural problem. As for the rest of the lunar pieces I don't see any need for them so it is logical to assume that they will continue their new orbital momentum around Earth.
Oh! But what would happen to them according to the distance from the surface of the planet Earth?
I believe that their orbits will get pretty far from the "mother planet" and the reason is pretty simple to me: The greater the need for mass compensation in a planetarium system, the shorter the actual orbit of the moon or natural satellite and viceversa. I am not a cosmology lover... I've said that in the past many times now. But if you asked me if this phenomenon has ever occured I would say YES IT HAS HAPPENED NOT FAR AWAY FROM US. The planet Mars used to have water and atmosphere according to astronomers and scientists studing the development of the universe. I could imagine that for some reasons [unknown to me] one of the natural satellites of Mars broke up into pieces and one of them hit the planet a long long long time ago. The rest of its moons had no other alternative than to get farhter away from its "host" assuming a new balance status in the mass-compensation process.

THIS IS IT! HIT ME with your comments if you consider a different alternative to the hypothetical scenario. This time I say: Relax! have some fun and put your imagination to work... don't take it too personal! You know what? The universe is not going to end tomorrow if we [you and me] were wrong. Physics need to be enjoyable and an instrument of connection between you and God.

We are all trying to "read the mind of God" as Einstein used to say...

HUMANBYDEFAULT