Flare Sci-Fi Forums: Explosions in Space

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Posted by MinutiaeMan (Member # 444) on :

Just how big of a "bang" can you get from contemporary explosive devices that are detonated in outer space? We've seen examples of rather large explosions very close to our perspective (the ship) but not affecting that ship very much. Just how close do you need to be to make a big impact?

If I were to guess, I'd say that a bomb would have less effect in space because there would be no pressure wave. I'm not familiar with the dynamics of an explosion, but I'd bet that most of the damage within a certain area is caused by the pressure wave of the air being pushed outward, not by the explosion itself.

So just how big a "boom" do you need?

Point of reference: Tonight I saw a "Babylon 5" rerun, and there was a nuclear detonation of 500,000 megatons about 5,000 kilometers away. It didn't damage the station one bit. Is this realistic? The same thing would logically apply to the Trek universe as well. One direct application I'm thinking of is proximity blasts.

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Posted by Masao (Member # 232) on :

Good question! In an explosion, what is the main cause of the destruction: air (or water for subs) pressure, the hot gases and plasma (?) of the explosive, shrapnel of the casing or what?

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Posted by The_Tom (Member # 38) on :

e) All of the above

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Posted by Sol System (Member # 30) on :

http://spider.ipac.caltech.edu/staff/waw/mad/mad12.html

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Posted by MinutiaeMan (Member # 444) on :

That's exactly what I was looking for. Thanks!

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You know, you really should keep a personal log. Why bore others needlessly?
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Posted by Saltah'na (Member # 33) on :

Fav Explosions:

- USS Oddysey in Jem'Hedar
- USS Enterprise (second explosion) in Cause and Effect
- Tie Between USS Defiant and USS Valiant
- USS Majestic and USS Seatag (but why did they have to be Miranda Class ships?)
- BoP in STVI (but did they reuse the same footage in Generations?)
- USS Enterprise in STIII
- USS Enterprise Stardrive section in Generations (see that pre-explosion, then the real thing)

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Posted by TheF0rce (Member # 533) on :

i say released energy

and radiation

i don't think there is air is space so a nuclear explosion would not work the same way it would in space as it would in an atmosphere.

Posted by AndrewR (Member # 44) on :

Seatag!?!

Wasn't it the Sitak!?!

What about the Yamato! and the Borg Cube in BOBW above Earth!

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Posted by Lee (Member # 393) on :

And yes, they re-used the ST:VI footage in Generations. . .

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Posted by Nim (Member # 205) on :

The "bobbwie cube" had such a violent explosion, that was nice.

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Posted by Omega (Member # 91) on :

Yeah, I've always heard that the reason a nuke could level a city was that there's not much that can stand up to air compressed to the density of steel moving at the speed of sound.

MM:

Five hundred THOUSAND megatons? 500 GIGATONS? Half a TERRATON! That'd be enough to take out the moon! Or at least a good sized chunk of it.

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