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03-30-2013, 09:47 PM | #1 |
Joe Curator
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: The Frozen Tundra
Posts: 1,080
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Anybody remember the specifications of the Tungsten rod for the Zeus?
I just want to crunch numbers and see if it would have any chance of the level of damage it did in the movie. Interestingly, outside of science fiction, the idea of dropping Tungsten rods from orbit was been thrown around by the military and report published by the Air Force using 20ft long rods, 1ft in dia gave an impact of 11.5 tons of TNT. As nuclear blasts are usually rated in kilotons of TNT, it doesn't seem like this would completely destroy London. It makes for an interesting movie weapon and an impressive CGI scene, but seems a little overdone. I know, it's just a movie, but...you know...SCIENCE!! Thanks. |
03-31-2013, 12:22 AM | #2 |
Cobra Viper
Join Date: Sep 2006
Posts: 155
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Here's another question: When the satellites blew up, wouldn't all the debris just fall to earth, including 10 of those rods from each satellite??!
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03-31-2013, 12:23 AM | #3 |
Broca Beach Realtor
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Broca Beach
Posts: 8,260
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I think we need an episode of myth busters on this
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"[Zarana] it's obvious by how many post[sic] you have... That you live a sheltered life...probably surrounded by your toys" |
03-31-2013, 02:49 PM | #4 |
Joe Curator
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: The Frozen Tundra
Posts: 1,080
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Well, you could argue that since the satellites were in orbit, blowing them up would keep them in orbit. Since they are in orbit, you couldn't just drop the rods. There would need to be some propellant that would initially force the rod downward so that it would actually pull away from the satellite until it entered the gravity well. If I remember right, when they were destroyed the satellites exploded from the earthward side and then up, so the explosive force should drive debris further away from earths gravitational pull. Going to need to take some notes when I go in Indy.
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03-31-2013, 03:13 PM | #5 |
Prastic Clackhead
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Whatever.
Posts: 975
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Doesn't junk and debris burn up when it enters Earth's atmosphere? and also, there's other debris still stuck in space from the blown up Zeus, not to mention the relatively active Nanomites that ate up the Night Raven that Ripcord flew in.
Gawd, I'm such a geek. |
03-31-2013, 08:47 PM | #6 |
Cobra Viper
Join Date: Sep 2006
Posts: 155
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Actually, the point of the "Rods from God" is that they don't really burn up. It's essentially a heavy, metal telephone pole dropped from orbit. It doesn't have a lot of surface area, so it can drop through the atmosphere without burning up all the way. Some of it heats to incandescence, which means it looks like a meteorite, but a huge portion of the mass stays intact until impact.
As far as the explosion blowing it away from the earth, that's probably true, but I'm not sure the force would be enough to push it out of our orbit, or at least into an orbit that wouldn't present a danger of the big chunks of debris falling back through the atmosphere. I'd have to do some serious math on that, but my gut tells me that the explosion of the satellites wouldn't give the debris escape velocity. |
04-01-2013, 02:41 AM | #7 |
Ghost Ninja Killa
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: America
Posts: 601
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Calm down folks, im sure that after the explosion they sent Star Brigade up in the Defiant to pick up the mess. Right?
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04-06-2013, 02:13 AM | #8 |
Codename: The Customizer
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Garland, TX
Posts: 1,083
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As far as I know, it's based on scientific theory. I believe the U.S. government looked into it at one point, they might be doing it now.
Tungsten is a metal with one of the highest melting points, which is why it's perfect for light bulbs. The melting point of Tungsten is 6,191°F (3,422°C) and could very much make it into Earth's atmosphere without burning up and hit the ground. It would be like an asteroid with a similar amount of kinetic energy, it could very much do a lot of damage, and as Zartan put it, it would have the destructive force of a nuclear bomb without all the mess. |
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