Comments on: System to vaporize dangerous asteroids is in the works

By: Old Country Boy

Old Country Boy — Sun, 17 Feb 2013 13:43:40 +0000

Oh yeah, the scary word…nuclear.

sharrukin on February 16, 2013 at 9:25 PM

This brings up another set of scary words…weapon of mass destruction in space, in orbit over Earth, over Washington… Oh, OK go ahead!

By: rob verdi

rob verdi — Sun, 17 Feb 2013 13:17:09 +0000

I remember reading one of Harry Turtledove’s alternate History books and asteroids and meteors are fitted with engines that allow aiming, in other words they could be turned into weapons.

By: kregg

kregg — Sun, 17 Feb 2013 11:38:26 +0000

"I will disintegrate you with my raay gun!" Meanwhile the dingbatacrats in Washington want to focus on "global warming". Something tells me that a big enough asteroid will make the earth a whole lot hotter than man-bear-pig's hokey shtick.

By: RINO in Name Only

RINO in Name Only — Sun, 17 Feb 2013 11:11:16 +0000

@jimlennon
Even the small bits (if they all come in at once) need to be deflected off of the atmosphere. It’s the total energy imparted that’s the problem.

321mdl on February 17, 2013 at 12:53 AM

I thought the energy was really only a problem if it was kinetic energy of an object or objects hitting the ground. If everything burns, you convert a lot of the energy into heat and mostly just fry the atmosphere a lot. I guess that could also be a problem, depending on how much “a lot” is, but I’d assume its a qualitatively different problem than the one caused by lots of stuff hitting the ground with lots of momentum. If so, then the conservation of energy doesn’t automatically mean that letting it burn up in the atmosphere is useless.

However, I haven’t thought about physics in years, so everything I just wrote in the preceding paragraph is quite possibly nonsense.

By: RINO in Name Only

RINO in Name Only — Sun, 17 Feb 2013 10:54:22 +0000

Lubin and his colleagues have conceived of a system they call DE-STAR, or Directed Energy Solar Targeting of Asteroids and exploration. The concept: harness power from the sun and convert it into a massive phased array of laser beams that can deflect or evaporate asteroids hazardous to Earth.

What could go wrong? Hopefully they make sure to adequately shield the thermal exhaust port this time.

By: trigon

trigon — Sun, 17 Feb 2013 06:01:38 +0000

There is a system, the atmosphere.

astonerii on February 16, 2013 at 9:29 PM

Hey, it worked for the dinosaurs.

By: 321mdl

321mdl — Sun, 17 Feb 2013 05:53:16 +0000

@jimlennon

Even the small bits (if they all come in at once) need to be deflected off of the atmosphere. It’s the total energy imparted that’s the problem.

By: Bulletchaser

Bulletchaser — Sun, 17 Feb 2013 05:20:43 +0000

What can be used against the asteroids can be used against the people of the Earth. The Ultimate weapon of Tyranny, a spaced based weapons system.

Of course it power is insignificant against the power of the Force.

By: david kumbera

david kumbera — Sun, 17 Feb 2013 05:13:52 +0000

Another reason, excuse, to raise taxes.

By: GWB

GWB — Sun, 17 Feb 2013 04:15:20 +0000

a massive phased array of laser beams

Yeah, but how do we get all those sharks into orbit?