It is paradoxical that the deadliest weapons humanity has ever created – nuclear bombs – could potentially save us from a disaster of cosmic proportions.
The idea of using nuclear weapons to stop an asteroid that will end the world may immediately bring to mind scenes from the movie Armageddon, where oil rig workers drill into an asteroid and detonate a nuclear device to end Earth’s destruction. prevent.
However, real science does not follow the same script. Blowing up an asteroid or even detonating a nuclear bomb on its surface would likely do more harm than good. The resulting debris could still hit Earth, only now in smaller but still destructive pieces, potentially worsening the catastrophe.
Yet nuclear weapons can still provide a solution – just not in the way Hollywood imagines.
Recent experiments conducted by physicists at Sandia National Laboratories explored an alternative. Instead of blowing up the asteroid, they tested the idea of directing a huge pulse of radiation from a nuclear explosion at it.
If timed perfectly, the heat generated could vaporize part of the asteroid’s surface, creating enough force to change its trajectory and push it away from Earth.
This theoretical method, while promising, has yet to be tested on a real asteroid, leaving the question of its feasibility unanswered.
“Asteroid impacts are among the many natural hazards facing civilization,” the scientists said noted in their studies.
“While most asteroids bypass Earth or cause little damage, the largest collisions have resulted in regional devastation and even the elimination of habitable climates.”
Given the existential threat posed by these rare but devastating events, eliminating the risk of catastrophic asteroid impacts has become a national priority.
