Hacker News new | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submit login

It doesn't matter. As long as each "blob" is heavy enough to resist deflection by the wind, the same total mass will impact at about the same speed. The only downside I can see is that the blobs might hit at slightly different times, which would reduce the instantaneous force on the target. But I think it would transfer the same total energy.



The same total energy would be transferred, but it would be spread out over a larger area. If the area is sufficiently large, then all you've done is raise the temperature of Germany by one degree for a while.

(Still, there are plenty of configurations that make good kinetic-kill weapons with a manageable amount of re-entry heat. Think large rods with good amounts of mass and small cross-sections. This is an engineering problem, not a show-stopper.)


Figuring Germany at 357021 sq. km, and "1 degree" to raise the equivalent of a meter of water by 1 Kelvin, gives 1.5E18 J.

If I did my math right, that's the energy in a 400 megaton bomb, or 17 kg of antimatter. The US nuclear arsenal is about 2500 Mt.

I don't think you'll be able to distribute that much energy so uniformly. Almost certainly you'll end up with all of it dumped into the surface, with people, land, and cities burned to a crisp. Only a few people in mines or deep valleys might survive.




Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: