In article <13g0i4ghu9lc837_at_news.supernews.com>,
pv+usenet_at_pobox.com (PV) wrote:
> Thanatos <atropos_at_mac.com> writes:
> >I've always wondered what the exact physics would be with a nuclear
> >detonation in space. Much (if not all) of the kinetic energy experienced
> >with a terrestrial blast comes from the firestorm and shockwave produced
> >in the atmosphere. In the vacuum of space there would be no physical
> >shockwave, just a sudden liberation of massless energy which would only
> >seem to irradiate the asteroid, not physically damage it anymore than a
> >burst of solar radiation would damage a big hunk of rock.
>
> Exactly right - the shockwave in an atmospheric nuke is from the air being
> superheated and being pushed along at the speed of sound.
>
> If you blew up a nuke in space near a big rock, you would now have a
> *radioactive* rock on the same trajectory. This is the opposite of helping. *
As ridiculous as that movie was, it seems like the only way for a nuke
to be of any use against an approaching asteroid would be to drill into
it and detonate it from within, like they did in "Armageddon".
Received on Mon Oct 01 2007 - 03:54:04 PDT