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Should Nuclear Devices Be Kept On Hand To Protect Against Near Earth Objects?

Posted by samzenpus on from the break-out-the-mini-nuke dept.

Lasrick writes: Seth Baum ponders whether nuclear devices should be kept on hand for the purpose of destroying near-Earth objects (NEOs) that pose a threat to the planet. Baum acknowledges that "The risk posed by NEOs is not zero, but it is small relative to the risk posed by nuclear weapons." Even so, Baum writes, since the consequences of an NEO hitting the earth would be catastrophic, keeping 10 or 20 nuclear devices available might be a good idea, and would be "insignificant compared to the thousands now held in military arsenals."

4 of 272 comments (clear)

  1. You mean NEOs like Russia? by tlambert · · Score: 5, Funny

    You mean NEOs like Russia? You can't get any nearer to Earth than that.

    Probably "yes".

  2. Re:Effect of nukes on NEOs by sverdlichenko · · Score: 3, Funny

    With a NUCLEAR DRILL!

  3. Re:Nuke by presidenteloco · · Score: 3, Funny

    Let me see, will a hydrogen fusion reaction work in space?

    If I could only get the Sunlight out of my eyes, I could google that on my smartphone for you.

    --

    Where are we going and why are we in a handbasket?
  4. Re: Irrelevant by ArmoredDragon · · Score: 3, Funny

    Ben Affleck will be too busy getting taco flavored kisses.