On the efficiency of nuclear explosives in deflecting the orbits of NEOs

Yabushita, Shin

doi:10.1007/bf00055185

Cited by 3 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…As has been shown in Section 3, the solution to equation (3.9) with the boundary condition given by equation (3.10) is closely approximated by the solution given by equation (3.11) with a constant temperature at the surface. This implies that the result obtained in Yabushita (1997) remains a good approximation. Thus, the estimate expressed by equation (3.25) remains valid.…”

Section: Case Of Low-yield Explosionmentioning

confidence: 56%

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On the transfer of radiation at asteroidal surfaces in relation to their orbit deflection — I

Yabushita

1998

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

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One of the methods discussed in deflecting the orbit of an Earth‐colliding asteroid is the use of nuclear explosives. In assessing its feasibility, apart from political considerations, it is important to quantify how effective it is in orbit deflection. The transfer of radiation incident at the surface is governed by a non‐linear diffusion equation. For low‐yield explosions with a slab geometry (S0≃108 kJ μs−1), the temperature at depth x and time t is well approximated by a similarity solution of the form T(x, t)=T0f(ξ), ξ=x/(T n0t)1/2, with T0 given by (S0/σ)1/4, where σ is the Stefan–Boltzmann constant, n is an index that specifies the radiation transfer and f(ξ) is the solution of a non‐linear differential equation subject to the condition f(0)=1 and limξ→∞f(ξ)=0. For high‐yield explosions (S0≃1010 kJ μs−1), numerical solutions to the non‐linear diffusion equation can be obtained. These solutions have properties similar to the case of low‐yield explosions. If the duration of the explosion is d×10−8 s, where d is close to 3, the fraction of energy absorbed by the surface is found to be 7, 12 and 23 per cent for S0=108, 109 and 1010 kJ μs−1 respectively.

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Section: Case Of Low-yield Explosionmentioning

confidence: 56%

“…where f ( ) is a solution of the differential equation The functional form of the differential equation (3.3) has been obtained in Yabushita (1997). The function f ( ) is such that it decreases as increases and vanishes at : 0 .…”

Section: T H E Ca S E O F L O W I N C I D E N T F Lu Xmentioning

confidence: 99%

On the transfer of radiation at asteroidal surfaces in relation to their orbit deflection — I

Yabushita

1998

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

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“…The first problem was discussed by Simonenko et al (1994) in an approximate way, but has been examined more closely by the present author (Yabushita 1996(Yabushita , 1998. The second problem has been discussed by a number of authors (Simonenko et al 1994;Ahrens & Harris 1994).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 82%

On the transfer of radiation at asteroidal surfaces in relation to their orbit deflection — II

Yabushita¹

1998

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

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A B S T R A C TThe efficiency of absorption of X-rays generated by a nuclear explosion at the surface of an asteroid, estimated earlier, is used to calculate the explosion yield needed to deflect the orbit of an asteroid. Following the work of Ahrens & Harris, it is shown that a recoil velocity of 1 cm s ¹1 is required to deflect an asteroid from a collision course with the Earth, and the necessary yield of explosion energy is estimated. If it is assumed that the scaling law between the energy and the diameter of the resulting crater, obtained from experiments carried out on the Earth, remains valid on the asteroid surface, where gravity is much weaker, an explosion energy of 8 and 800 megaton (Mton) equivalent of TNT would be required for asteroids of diameter 1 and 10 km respectively. If, on the other hand, the crater diameter is proportional to a certain power of the gravity g, the power being determined from a dimension analysis, 130 kton and 12 Mton would be required to endow asteroids of diameters 1 and 10 km with the required velocity, respectively. The result indicates that in order to estimate the required explosion energy, a better understanding of cratering under gravity much weaker than on the Earth would be required.

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Hazards to Civilization from the Collision of Minor Bodies

Koshiishi¹

1998

Dynamics of Comets and Asteroids and Their Role in Earth History

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On the efficiency of nuclear explosives in deflecting the orbits of NEOs

Cited by 3 publications

References 4 publications

On the transfer of radiation at asteroidal surfaces in relation to their orbit deflection — I

On the transfer of radiation at asteroidal surfaces in relation to their orbit deflection — I

On the transfer of radiation at asteroidal surfaces in relation to their orbit deflection — II

Hazards to Civilization from the Collision of Minor Bodies

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