From: "JACK L. URETSKY (C) 1996; HEP DIV., ARGONNE NATIONAL LAB, ARGONNE, IL 60439" <JLU@hep.anl.gov>
Date: Sun, 7 Jul 1996 12:31:34 -0500 (CDT)
Hi all and James Shue-
James, you ask
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Illegal or not, the question still stands. What would happen if we
detonated a thermonuclear device in space? What sort of shock wave would
it send out? What sort of debris would it leave behind? It it were
exploded at a distance of lets say... half the distance between us and the
moon, could we see the flash and what effect would it have on the earth or
the moon? Surely some of the nuclear people out there have addressed this
question before. I'm just curious!
--
There were some detonations in the sixties at altitudes with
densities approaching those in deep space. I don't know the extent
to which the pictures and analyses have been declassified. Maybe
someone wants to do a literature search.
Regards,
Jack