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Could a rogue country nuke the moon?

69 replies

zebedeehadapoint · 11/07/2024 04:16

I'm assuming the earth relies on the moon for the sea movement etc so its existence is essential (I could be wrong) so could a country hold the world to ransom and blow it up? Can warhead travel that far?

And yes, I've got insomnia at the moment Confused

OP posts:
CalicoPusscat · 11/07/2024 04:28

I was just about to ask if you're sleeping

EliflurtleAndTheInfiniteMadness · 11/07/2024 04:40

Longest range ICBM can go 16, 000 km. At its closest point the moon is 360,000 km away.

Maybe you could retrofit something on top of the old soyuz type rocket and use it to deliver the pay load. You'd have to have a lot of money to even hit it in the first place, blowing it up or knocking it out or orbit seems a tad unlikely.

https://slate.com/technology/2012/11/nuking-the-moon-how-many-warheads-would-it-take-to-push-the-moon-out-of-orbit.html

What Would Happen If We Nuked the Moon?

The U.S. Air Force considered detonating a nuclear device on the moon during the late 1950s. In a recent interview with CNN, physicist Leonard Reiffel,...

https://slate.com/technology/2012/11/nuking-the-moon-how-many-warheads-would-it-take-to-push-the-moon-out-of-orbit.html

MrsTerryPratchett · 11/07/2024 04:45

Travel is one thing, damaging it in a meaningful way is quite another. Watch Armageddon for the closed fist analogy.

MrsTerryPratchett · 11/07/2024 04:46

But yes, the moon is essential.

Kovus · 11/07/2024 04:52

The moon is made from cheese, as we all know. We also know the moon landings were fake, which means that nobody yet knows exactly what type of cheese it is.

Only when we do, is it possible to test your theory by recreating the conditions on Earth. My Google research, at this ungodly hour, indicates the following experiments.

In 2007, Dutch scientists attempted to recreate the destruction of the moon using a whole Edam under laboratory conditions. While the inside initially melted, the tough outer rind contained the molten inside mass which gradually cooled down and reformed again. If the moon consists mainly of Edam, then it looks pretty robust.

Scientists at University of Nottingham experimented on 23 March 2018 by firing a Trident II D-5 at a stack of over 4,000 Long Clawson Stilton cheeses. While all multiple warheads primary fuses detonated inside the cheese, the main explosion did not occur. On analysis the cheese stack was found to be overripe, creating chemicals and other compounds that rendered the main explosion futile, mainly on account of neutralising the lithium deuteride core. However, some scientists now believe that lower temperature conditions in space would prevent the overipening of the moon, so it may well work.

At the CERN project last Thursday, a senior scientist on secondment from Austria left their open Emmental sandwich within range of the large hadron collider one lunchtime while working on a test fire. While we still await an interim report, initial news is that a stream of protons became captured inside one of the internal holes of the cheese, accelerating over several minutes until the hole was rebored to over 14 times its original diameter. If this is found to be true, the implications are truly breathtaking. It means that you or I, with a small power pack, a selection of mirrors and a microwave oven (from either Curry PC World, Argos or John Lewis) could theoretically hollow out the entire moon over a period of about 11 years from the comfort of our own home! (Strictly your home, or my home, as we don’t live together). But unless or until we have confirmation that the moon is made from Emmental, we cannot really be certain.

EliflurtleAndTheInfiniteMadness · 11/07/2024 04:56

@Kovus 😂 have other cheese's been considered or is there some reason these 3 are on the short list? What if its a brie or Camembert?

LivingDeadGirlUK · 11/07/2024 04:56

What have I walked into? :p

surely you only need to get the nukes into space with a reasonable momentum and correct trajectory because of inertia?

vodkaredbullgirl · 11/07/2024 04:57

Will no one think about the poor Clanger's and soup dragon.

MrsTerryPratchett · 11/07/2024 04:58

EliflurtleAndTheInfiniteMadness · 11/07/2024 04:56

@Kovus 😂 have other cheese's been considered or is there some reason these 3 are on the short list? What if its a brie or Camembert?

FFS this kind of science denial is repulsive. OF COURSE it's a hard cheese.

Brie? What kind of flat earther suggests a soft cheese?

<throws chair across room>

HaveABlastOfThisMatrix · 11/07/2024 05:02

vodkaredbullgirl · 11/07/2024 04:57

Will no one think about the poor Clanger's and soup dragon.

Yes, this! Poor things…

Kovus · 11/07/2024 05:03

@EliflurtleAndTheInfiniteMadness
I recall reading somewhere that it would be a no brainer if the moon was made of Brie or Camembert. I think it was an American scientist or politician who said French cheeses would just surrender. Or something like that.

pandasorous · 11/07/2024 05:06

I didn't even bother reading your post OP, your thread title was enough to convince me.

yes this can 100% happen. I would prefer a standard explosive though as the moon is made of cheese. the right missile, with the right amount of heat generation will give us the universe's biggest fondue and I will be there for ALL of it.

HaveABlastOfThisMatrix · 11/07/2024 05:07

@Kovus that might just be the best thing I’ve ever read…

pandasorous · 11/07/2024 05:08

Kovus · 11/07/2024 05:03

@EliflurtleAndTheInfiniteMadness
I recall reading somewhere that it would be a no brainer if the moon was made of Brie or Camembert. I think it was an American scientist or politician who said French cheeses would just surrender. Or something like that.

given that the French are known for their military defeats strategic cessation of military engagements, I have no doubt French cheeses will surrender.

Poachedeggavocado · 11/07/2024 05:09

It's got to be parmesan surely? It's definitely a hard cheese. Surely we can ask Wallace or Gromit?

MrsTerryPratchett · 11/07/2024 05:09

the universe's biggest fondue

Give me a place to stand, and a fork long enough

Ponderingwindow · 11/07/2024 05:11

Getting the bomb to the moon isn’t really the problem. They don’t have to launch an icbm. It could be a spacecraft that lands.

the real question is would it matter. Yes, it’s a big bomb, but The real terror of a nuclear weapon isn’t the size of the explosion, it’s the radiation. With no life to bring to immediate or long-term harm and no atmosphere to hold in the radiation released, how long would the effects remain detectable? I’m curious now and not sure how to figure out the answer.

Thevelvelletes · 11/07/2024 05:13

vodkaredbullgirl · 11/07/2024 04:57

Will no one think about the poor Clanger's and soup dragon.

The Clanger's may well invade earth and put a stop to it .😁

LochKatrine · 11/07/2024 05:13

I think when Wallace and Gromit went there they came across a hostile cooker - it could fight anyone off.

Kovus · 11/07/2024 05:16

It just so happened that I bumped into Brian Cox five minutes ago, while out walking the dog before sunrise.

I got him engaged on the content of this thread and asked for his opinion, going into some detail about thermo nuclear theory, the composition of the moon, the evidence of life elsewhere in the universe, baby Sky Moos and stuff, before allowing him to speak.

He said: “I’m Brian Cox, the actor”.

I’m home now, drinking tea.

Rookie93 · 11/07/2024 05:16

Woke up and stumbled on this thread, feel a bit like Alice going down a 'rarebit' hole. Amazing!

ArseInTheCoOpWindow · 11/07/2024 05:18

Seriously the Americans planned to do this in the 60’s l think.

Lostworlds · 11/07/2024 05:19

LochKatrine · 11/07/2024 05:13

I think when Wallace and Gromit went there they came across a hostile cooker - it could fight anyone off.

I’m sure he’s happy skiing now but if you damage those skis then you’re taking your life into your own hands!

JaninaDuszejko · 11/07/2024 05:19

Nukes in Space, TLDR the Americans have already done it, wiped out 1/3 of the satellites around the world and everyone decided it was a VERY STUPID THING TO DO and nobody should ever do it again because it would knock out everyones satellites, not just your enemies.

Oh, and looking at the title below, it's not more likely that's just the clickbait.

Nukes in space: Why a very very stupid idea just became more likely

Fears of a Cold War nightmare resurfacing as rumours swirl of a possible Russian nuclear deployment and a recent UN resolution fails to pass.

https://www.sciencefocus.com/space/nukes-in-space

LochKatrine · 11/07/2024 05:19

@Kovus I expect he gets that a lot. It would be a good idea for him to get a degree in Physics, just to avoid future problems.