MIT-bag-model calculation mapping the parameter space (quark masses, strong coupling, bag constant) in which strange quark matter is absolutely stable relative to ordinary nuclei, and characterizing the mass/charge properties of small strangelets versus bulk strange matter. Sets the quantitative theoretical bar any “could a strangelet convert Earth” argument has to clear. relevance_note: the quantitative companion to Witten 1984, defining exactly when/whether strange matter is the true ground state — load-bearing for whether strangelet conversion is even conceivable.