A powerful radiation impulse that occurs during a nuclear explosion is able to evaporate part of the asteroid and change its trajectory, which will eliminate the threat to the Earth, scientists found out.
As the newspaper The Guardian writes, a group of physicists of the National Laboratory of Sandia, under the leadership of Nathan Moore, proved their theory, presenting the first comprehensive model of nuclear planetary defense.
Scientists have set experience, the script of which resembles the plot of science fiction films. They managed to show that a very strong radiation impulse can evaporate one part of the asteroid and knock it down from the course.
According to physicists, meteorites that can be dangerous for the Earth can be redirected to orbit, which is not a danger to the planet, using a nuclear bomb exploded nearby.
Moore and his team planned an experiment based on the assumption that the heat released by a nuclear explosion would increase the temperature on the surface of the asteroid to tens of thousands of degrees, creating an expanding gas ball capable of knocking an asteroid from the course.
During their experiment, which lasted only 20 microseconds, Moore and colleagues subjected the asteroid layout to the effects of intensive X -ray impulses similar to those that are emitted in nuclear explosions. Researchers found that even an ultra -short effect of radiation led to that. that the rest of the “asteroid” accelerated to almost 320 km/h.
“The advanced material breaks out in one direction, pushing the asteroid in the opposite direction. It is like turning the asteroid into a rocket,” said Nathan, the head of the experiment, the results of which are published in the journal Nature Physics.
Scaling the results of their experiment, scientists came to the conclusions that the nuclear strategy will be effective for protection against asteroids up to 4 km in diameter.
Physicists are convinced that nuclear weapons can also cope with larger stones if you know about the threat long before the approach of the celestial body.