How to test a 200 MT nuclear bomb?

Travis

Misanthrope of the Mountains
Travis
Joined
Mar 31, 2007
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A comet is coming!

But fear not humanity is putting aside its differences and we are sending up a series of nuclear interceptors. Except that they all need to be 200 megaton monsters and we won't have a launcher capable of lifting them for over a year (and that's assuming the ad-hoc plan of dusting off Russian Energia blueprints works out) so how do we test these monsters here on Earth in the meantime?

My first thought was to maybe use one of the ultra deep mines in South Africa. But what bit of the blast that breaks through to the surface would put up an awful lot of fallout.

So maybe a surface burst in Siberia?
 
I'm not sure you can dig deep enough for a 200 MT blast to be contained.

But you don't really have to. You just have to test the primary (the boosted plutonium core). If this comes to a certain threshold, the secondary (where the hydrogen of the hydrogen bomb resides) will always work.
As far as I understand the techniques, there isn't really a limit as to how large you can make the secondary.
 
We could test it on Michael Bolton.

At least, the collateral damage would look justified.
 
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IIRC, the 100-megatonners would leave a crater 19 miles in diameter.
 
Skwinty said:
How about nowhere!!!
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Well if you were absolutely sure there was a place where you'd need a 19 mile circular harbour in about 1000 years (but not sooner!). Then that would be the place to test it.

The only catch is to identify that place today. :)
 
If you want to avoid "death thru killer asteroid", a nuke is not a good investment. Sure you can make it explode on one side, and have the surface vaporized add a bit of impulse but IIRC not that much.

You would much better off slapping motors on one side of the asteroid, and hoping that by adding enough impulse you can put it on another trajectory. Or even from one side accelerate to rocket so that it collide the comete/asteroide and give impulse to it.

Digging it deep and putting inside the comete only means you break it up, you do not remove the mass coming direct thru earth. Anyway if it means you go there, why not simply bring motor to strap on one side and try to change the impulse.
 
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Aepervius said:
If you want to avoid "death thru killer asteroid", a nuke is not a good investment. Sure you can make it explode on one side, and have the surface vaporized add a bit of impulse but IIRC not that much.

You would much better off slapping motors on one side of the asteroid, and hoping that by adding enough impulse you can put it on another trajectory. Or even from one side accelerate to rocket so that it collide the comete/asteroide and give impulse to it.

Digging it deep and putting inside the comete only means you break it up, you do not remove the mass coming direct thru earth. Anyway if it means you go there, why not simply bring motor to strap on one side and try to change the impulse.
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Can't you use a few nukes to bump it off course?
 
C_Felix said:
Can't you use a few nukes to bump it off course?
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I guess it's like slapping a boat with your hand a few times. Other than having a very painfull hand, the boat will essentially stay in the same place.
On the other hand, a gentle push over a longer time will certainly move the boat.
 
In space there is no atmosphere to transmit a pressure wave.

So the only pressure exerted on the asteroid or comet would be gamma rays, other electromagnetic energy and particles from the bomb itself.

Whether that would be sufficient to dislodge the asteroid from its current trajectory is debatable.
 
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