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A first-of-its-kind research conducted on the possibility of using a nuclear explosion on an asteroid to save Earth found that the manoeuvre could help in deflecting it away and thus prevent it from hitting our planet.
The research titled Simulation of asteroid deflection with a megajoule-class X-ray pulse concluded that detonating a nuclear explosion near the asteroid would result in the generation of high-energy X-rays that would deviate its path and save the planet from mass destruction.
“To most people, the danger from asteroids seems remote,” Nathan Moore, lead author of the research and a physicist at United States-based Sandia National Laboratories, was quoted in a statement.
“But our planet is hit by BB-sized (small size) asteroids every day. We call them shooting stars. We don’t want to wait for a large asteroid to show up and then scramble for the right method to deflect it,” he added.
Last year, the US National Academy of Sciences published a report which advocated that planetary defence is a national priority.
Previous simulations have established that the shockwave generated by a nuclear explosion could provide enough force to successfully deflect an oncoming asteroid.
However, the asteroids that were safely deflected in these experiments were spotted decades in advance. The asteroids that were reported to be some years away from Earth were discerned to be too close to deflect them by using nukes as it would litter Earth with dangerous fragments that could cause substantial damage on our planet.
To investigate how the nuclear option could avert mass destruction, the researchers positioned 0.1 gram of an asteroid-like silica on a piece of ultra-thin foil inside Z Pulsed Power Facility — the largest high frequency electromagnetic wave generator in the world.
After the Z machine fired radiation, it generated magnetic fields that compressed argon gas inside into a plasma to temperatures comparable to the Sun.
This instantly disintegrated the foil and produced a burst of X-rays that left the coffee-bean-sized silica nugget suspended in the air for almost 20 millionths of a second.
“It was a novel idea,” Moore was quoted.
“A mock asteroid is suspended in space. For a one-nanometer fall, we can ignore Earth's gravity for 20 millionths of a second as Z produces a burst of X-rays that sweeps over the mock-asteroid surface 12.5 millimetres across, about the width of a finger. The trick is to use just enough force to redirect the flying rock without splitting it into several equally deadly subsections advancing toward Earth,” the scientist explained.