From: "JACK L. URETSKY (C) 1996; HEP DIV., ARGONNE NATIONAL LAB, ARGONNE, IL 60439" <JLU@hep.anl.gov>
Date: Sun, 23 Jun 1996 12:43:09 -0500 (CDT)
Hi Brad-
You write:
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Jack, how about we put some of our "high tech" knowledge to work along
with our surplus nuclear missiles and zap the sucker. What does a nuclear
explosion in space do? Have we ever tried it?
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There is a substantial literature on this subject, which is
what makes it a viable 8th grade project. The subject can be discussed
at either a primitive, intuitive level, or at the level of quite
sophisticated Newtonian dynamics.
One of the problems with the nuclear option is that it might
make the collision worse than it might have been otherwise.
The most recent discussion that I know of is the calculations
on the asteroid Eros by Michel, et al., "Nature", 25 April '96, p 689
(probable collision in distant future >> 100 kyrs).
Regards,
Jack
"What did Barrow's lectures contain? Bourbaki writes with some
scorn that in his book in a hundred pages of the text there are about
180 drawings (citation). (Concerning Bourbaki's books it can be said
that in a thousand pages there is not one drawing, and it is not at all
clear which is worse)." Arnold, "Huygens & Barrow, Newton & Hooke", p 40.