Death Star Science: The Physics Of Destroying An Earth-Sized Planet

StartsWithABang writes: The ability to destroy an Alderaan-like (or, ahem, Earth-like) planet has long been the dream of slashdotters everywhere. But generating the power necessary to unbind a planet — some 2.24 x 10^32 Joules — is simply impossible on board an object only the size of a small moon. But if, instead, you could house a 1-2 trillion ton asteroid (about 5-7 km across) made of antimatter and deliver it to the planet's core, Einstein's E=mc^2 ensures that the planet will be destroyed in seconds.

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Already been done

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Greg Bear's The Forge of God destroyed the Earth in this manner many years ago. An attacking civilization flung two large pieces of neutronium and antineutronium at opposite sides of the Earth, where they descended to the core and orbited each other for several weeks, until they spiraled in together and made bad things happen.