Michael Bay is a prophet.
Despite being ridiculously dumb, albeit stupidly fun,Armageddonmay have gotten planetary defense (partially) right.
A nuclear explosion could be the key to deflecting an Earth-bound killer asteroid.
In this artist’s depiction, an asteroid brings rock to an X-ray fight.© NASA
The physics involved, however, are far more complex than the Bayhem depicted on screen.
To most people, the danger from asteroids seems remote, said Moore in astatement.
But our planet is hit by BB-sized asteroids every day.
We call them shooting stars.
Moore theorized that high-energy X-ray pulses could do the trick.
Fortunately, his lab is home to the Z machinethe largest and most powerful X-ray generator in the world.
When hit by the Z machines pulses, the wire vaporized, leaving the matter suspended in a vacuum.
That was enough time for the silica and quartz to also be hit by the X-rays.
The initial goal was to alter the orbit by only 72 seconds, making the mission a resounding success.
Thats about one-tenth of an adult male African elephant, so, on a cosmic scale, thats tiny.
The day after, there would be no re-dos, he said.
In the paper, Moore noted that this experiment is just the first step towards a viable defense.
More experiments are needed to see how different metals and mineral combinations respond to powerful X-ray bursts.
News from the future, delivered to your present.
As for the Moon, not so much.
