Author Topic: Destroying the Earth-Numbers for Fun and Entertainment  (Read 4698 times)

Cryhavok101

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Destroying the Earth-Numbers for Fun and Entertainment
« on: 08 January 2017, 02:45:57 »
Earth's diameter: 2,123,000 levels (6 meters high each)

All of the rest of these numbers were arrived at using the Generic Nuclear Weapons Formulas on page 177 of Interstellar Operations. No real physics were harmed (or even consulted) during these calculations. I hope you all enjoy  :D ;D

Nuclear Weapon needed to crater that many levels, punching a hole all the way through the planet:
30,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 kilotons (3E+25)

This would do:
6,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 Standard scale damage (6E+27)

In a radius of:
7,768,081,264 hexes, or 456,945,957 map sheets

If exploded in the air instead of on the ground it wouldn't crater through the earth (rules say  so), but it would explode in a radius of:
10,331,548,081 hexes, or 607,738,122 map sheets

It would lose damage at a rate of:
772,391,507,772,466,000 per hex if exploded on the ground, or
580,745,494,565,764,000 per hex if exploded in the air.

Secondary effects would have a radius of:
15,536,162,528 hexes or 913,891,913 map sheets, if exploded on the ground, and
20,663,096,162 hexes or 1,215,476,245 map sheets, if exploded in the air.

The Height of the Secondary effects would be:
If exploded on the ground, 863,120 Space Hexes past the ground row on the Space Map, or if exploded in the air, 1,147,950 Space Hexes past the ground row on the Space Map. That is far more than enough to irradiate the moon as well.

The Height of the primary damage would be:
From a ground explosion, the damage would reach 431,560 Space Hexes past the ground row on the space map, and for an air explosion, it would reach 573,975 Space Hexes past the ground row on the space map. Now while the rules don't let allow for cratering another celestial body, that means if you can line up the damage, you could turn then entire moon to a crisp with this explosion as well... and even things well past it.

The Critical Hit Chance of this explosion is:
Amusingly it will only score a critical hit on a 4+, so other than being utterly erased from existence, at least you might not get crits from it.

This warhead would weigh a measly:
15,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 tons (1.5E+22)


Unfortunately none of this is legal, because the maximum legal Nuclear warhead yield is 50,000 kilotons... far less than what is needed to actually destroy the Earth in battletech.

I hope you have all enjoyed today's educational piece from the Department of Mega-Engineering.

Liam's Ghost

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Re: Destroying the Earth-Numbers for Fun and Entertainment
« Reply #1 on: 08 January 2017, 03:05:48 »
Suppose you detonated one fifty megaton warhead, then set another fifty megaton warhead at the bottom of that crater and set it off, and so on and so forth until you come out the other side?  Then you'd only need 141,534 warheads. :P
Good news is the lab boys say the symptoms of asbestos poisoning show an immediate latency of 44.6 years. So if you're thirty or over you're laughing. Worst case scenario you miss out on a few rounds of canasta, plus you've forwarded the cause of science by three centuries. I punch those numbers into my calculator, it makes a happy face.

(indirect accessory to the) Slayer of Monitors!

Cryhavok101

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Re: Destroying the Earth-Numbers for Fun and Entertainment
« Reply #2 on: 08 January 2017, 13:37:24 »
And as a Bonus, here is a link to a spreadsheet for calculating your very own Nuke!

"You get a nuke, and you get a nuke! Everybody gets a nuke!"

RunandFindOut

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Re: Destroying the Earth-Numbers for Fun and Entertainment
« Reply #3 on: 08 January 2017, 15:50:47 »
"Where's my earth-shattering kaboom?  There was supposed to be an earth-shattering kaboom!
One does not just walk into Detroit

She ignored the dragon, and Freddy Mercury who arrived to battle it with the Power of Rock.

I am Belch II

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Re: Destroying the Earth-Numbers for Fun and Entertainment
« Reply #4 on: 09 January 2017, 11:07:01 »
And as a Bonus, here is a link to a spreadsheet for calculating your very own Nuke!

"You get a nuke, and you get a nuke! Everybody gets a nuke!"

Thank you for the spreadsheet 
Walking the fine line between sarcasm and being a smart-ass

Cryhavok101

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Re: Destroying the Earth-Numbers for Fun and Entertainment
« Reply #5 on: 09 January 2017, 11:35:43 »
No problem. Someday I'll update it to include things like prices as well.

Col Toda

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Re: Destroying the Earth-Numbers for Fun and Entertainment
« Reply #6 on: 11 January 2017, 05:03:57 »
If the object is to blow up a planet the taking a drop ship and have it have enough fuel to go at least .5 C ought to be able to break up a planet. Had someone in my group specifically design a Behemoth size drop ship just for that purpose. They are a few variations of this . If you are moving fast enough Radar and Radio is too slow to permit anyone to react and defend themselves.

Cryhavok101

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Re: Destroying the Earth-Numbers for Fun and Entertainment
« Reply #7 on: 11 January 2017, 08:26:31 »
The major problem I see with that, is that while traveling through the high-altitude map hexes, you are going to take damage for exceeding the maximum safe velocity of that hex. At the ground hex, where you transition to the low altitude map, you would take 5 damage to the nose per point of velocity higher than 2 (interface hex is 15)(TW pg 79-80). Assuming '.5 C' is the speed needed to do enough damage to the planet to destroy it in a ramming attack, you would explode on the atmosphere without ever hitting the ground. Battletech atmospheres unfortunately do not take damage and can't technically be destroyed.

Col Toda

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Re: Destroying the Earth-Numbers for Fun and Entertainment
« Reply #8 on: 13 January 2017, 05:07:00 »
You hit an airless Natural Satellite like the moon and have the dust and rubble rain down on the planet . No more moon no more tides and Ocean currents biosphere damage makes planet uninhabitable. Same Result .

Cryhavok101

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Re: Destroying the Earth-Numbers for Fun and Entertainment
« Reply #9 on: 20 January 2017, 19:14:03 »
Well, if you are only going for 'uninhabitable' rather than 'I just put a hole all the way through a planet' there become a LOT more options. Crashing a moon into a planet is always good fun though.

kounskrym

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Re: Destroying the Earth-Numbers for Fun and Entertainment
« Reply #10 on: 20 January 2017, 21:11:23 »
Wasn't there a book that had a donut shaped planet ? And if you did make one wouldn't that mean you created more space for people to live and work?

Cryhavok101

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Re: Destroying the Earth-Numbers for Fun and Entertainment
« Reply #11 on: 20 January 2017, 22:19:25 »
I wonder what that shape would do to the forces that hold a planet together and the effects that would have on anyone living in various areas of the planet. The night/day cycle would get really messy on the inside of the ring.

 

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