6 ms·

I guess it's too big to break up with explosives?

by andrewflnr 6y ago

gruez 6y ago
Even nukes? Do H-bombs generate a lot of fallout?
- adrianN 6y ago
  H-bombs use fission to start the fusion, so I'd guess that the amount of fallout is not much different. In any case, the test ban treaty would probably prevent the use of nukes.
  - ravi-delia 6y ago
    The test ban absolutely would prevent it, but modern H-Bombs have next to no fallout, because the fission device is very efficient.
    - Elv13 6y ago
      > The test ban absolutely would prevent it Not quite. The Soviets used nukes with USA blessing (and on-site monitors) on several occasions for geo-engineering jobs. Mostly to plug burning oil wells. The CTBTO would not be happy, but depending on who built the nuke and how deep it is in the iceberg, this is boilerplate approvable. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_Explosions_for_the_National_Economy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_Explosions_for_the_Nat... That being said, it's silly to nuke an iceberg and it wont achieve anything. The current will push the chunks back together and the shockwave will kill all the penguins. edit: Another "funny" USSR use case for fission reactors https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subterrene https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subterrene . The mind boggling detail is that apparently it just worked (until it didn't).
      - andrewflnr 6y ago
        I mean, my idea was to break it up before it got close to any penguins. And I wouldn't take it for granted that it would get squished back together, considering they're surprised it hasn't broken up already. Not saying that nukes are a good solution...
      - LargoLasskhyfv 6y ago
        Why do you make that USSR? According to your second link, the USA did that too. Besides that, there are pictures on the net with tunnel boring machine in US Air Force livery from 1982 somewhere around Little Skull Mountain, Nevada, where they experimented with that, allegedly :) But it's always the same picture, and it looks like a normal TBM to, except of the livery, of course :) Mostly comes up in context of so called DUMBs(Deep Underground Military Bases) where the conspiracy fetishists lurk :)
        LargoLasskhyfv 6y ago
        I'm also always wondering what would happen if it meets groundwater, and the resulting steam explosion?
  - arethuza 6y ago
    Most modern weapons are fission-fusion-fission designs with the latter fission step using neutrons from the preceding fusion step. Most of the energy in most "H-bomb" designs comes from fission: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermonuclear_weapon https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermonuclear_weapon A notable example where this wasn't the case was the test of the Tsar Bomba where the final fission component was left out largely because of the enormous amount of fall-out this would create - reducing the yield from 100Mt to 50Mt. The resulting explosion did have a very high fusion component.
- stickfigure 6y ago
  The article says the iceberg is 4200 sq km. That's about the size of Rhode Island. I don't think a few H-bombs are going to do much.
  - neetrain 6y ago
    So it's wider than South Georgia Island itself? How crazy.
  - cm2187 6y ago
    But you only need to break it up. Perhaps that could be achieved?
    - arethuza 6y ago
      Exploding a single nuke on that berg is probably going to just produce a berg with a neat circular hole in it, some radioactive sea water (from neutron activation of sodium) and a lot of dead wildlife.
- swiley 6y ago
  I think H-bombs are the opposite of what you want: they're all radiation and little to no explosion. The idea is you detonate them in a city and then have your own citizens move in and take over the undamaged property.
  - tyho 6y ago
    Are you thinking of a neutron bomb? Whilst a hydrogen bomb doe s produce lots of radiation, it also produces one hell of a big boom.
    - arethuza 6y ago
      Isn't a neutron bomb a hydrogen bomb design that lets the neutrons from the fusion escape rather than being used to drive a final fission stage?
kiddico 6y ago
What if we train a team of experienced oil drillers to become sailors, and have them blow it up? Or maybe it would be easier to train sailors to become oil drillers... Either way, I think we can just pull it off. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ahtp0sjA5U https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ahtp0sjA5U)
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
- LargoLasskhyfv 6y ago
  The UK has some Eurofighters stationed on Mount Pleasant in the Falklands, they can carry some nasty stuff. And submarines with torpedoes! Time for BAE Systems to show off, err... green wash, white wash, whatever.

I guess it's too big to break up with explosives?

gruez 6y ago

Even nukes? Do H-bombs generate a lot of fallout?

adrianN 6y ago
H-bombs use fission to start the fusion, so I'd guess that the amount of fallout is not much different. In any case, the test ban treaty would probably prevent the use of nukes.
- ravi-delia 6y ago
  The test ban absolutely would prevent it, but modern H-Bombs have next to no fallout, because the fission device is very efficient.
  - Elv13 6y ago
    > The test ban absolutely would prevent it Not quite. The Soviets used nukes with USA blessing (and on-site monitors) on several occasions for geo-engineering jobs. Mostly to plug burning oil wells. The CTBTO would not be happy, but depending on who built the nuke and how deep it is in the iceberg, this is boilerplate approvable. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_Explosions_for_the_National_Economy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_Explosions_for_the_Nat... That being said, it's silly to nuke an iceberg and it wont achieve anything. The current will push the chunks back together and the shockwave will kill all the penguins. edit: Another "funny" USSR use case for fission reactors https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subterrene https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subterrene . The mind boggling detail is that apparently it just worked (until it didn't).
    - andrewflnr 6y ago
      I mean, my idea was to break it up before it got close to any penguins. And I wouldn't take it for granted that it would get squished back together, considering they're surprised it hasn't broken up already. Not saying that nukes are a good solution...
    - LargoLasskhyfv 6y ago
      Why do you make that USSR? According to your second link, the USA did that too. Besides that, there are pictures on the net with tunnel boring machine in US Air Force livery from 1982 somewhere around Little Skull Mountain, Nevada, where they experimented with that, allegedly :) But it's always the same picture, and it looks like a normal TBM to, except of the livery, of course :) Mostly comes up in context of so called DUMBs(Deep Underground Military Bases) where the conspiracy fetishists lurk :)
      - LargoLasskhyfv 6y ago
        I'm also always wondering what would happen if it meets groundwater, and the resulting steam explosion?
- arethuza 6y ago
  Most modern weapons are fission-fusion-fission designs with the latter fission step using neutrons from the preceding fusion step. Most of the energy in most "H-bomb" designs comes from fission: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermonuclear_weapon https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermonuclear_weapon A notable example where this wasn't the case was the test of the Tsar Bomba where the final fission component was left out largely because of the enormous amount of fall-out this would create - reducing the yield from 100Mt to 50Mt. The resulting explosion did have a very high fusion component.
stickfigure 6y ago
The article says the iceberg is 4200 sq km. That's about the size of Rhode Island. I don't think a few H-bombs are going to do much.
- neetrain 6y ago
  So it's wider than South Georgia Island itself? How crazy.
- cm2187 6y ago
  But you only need to break it up. Perhaps that could be achieved?
  - arethuza 6y ago
    Exploding a single nuke on that berg is probably going to just produce a berg with a neat circular hole in it, some radioactive sea water (from neutron activation of sodium) and a lot of dead wildlife.
swiley 6y ago
I think H-bombs are the opposite of what you want: they're all radiation and little to no explosion. The idea is you detonate them in a city and then have your own citizens move in and take over the undamaged property.
- tyho 6y ago
  Are you thinking of a neutron bomb? Whilst a hydrogen bomb doe s produce lots of radiation, it also produces one hell of a big boom.
  - arethuza 6y ago
    Isn't a neutron bomb a hydrogen bomb design that lets the neutrons from the fusion escape rather than being used to drive a final fission stage?

kiddico 6y ago

What if we train a team of experienced oil drillers to become sailors, and have them blow it up? Or maybe it would be easier to train sailors to become oil drillers... Either way, I think we can just pull it off. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ahtp0sjA5U https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ahtp0sjA5U)

deleted 6y ago
[deleted]
LargoLasskhyfv 6y ago
The UK has some Eurofighters stationed on Mount Pleasant in the Falklands, they can carry some nasty stuff. And submarines with torpedoes! Time for BAE Systems to show off, err... green wash, white wash, whatever.