The power of the Jupiter projectile
I recently re-watched an awesome show - Diebuster. At one point in the show, one of the characters uses Jupiter as a projectile, slamming it into one of the aliens, but to no avail.
I can't find a good picture of that scene for some strange reason.
Anyway, this question is not about how such a feat would be achievable, or even about whether or not it is possible, rather it is about just how powerful such a projectile would be. How much damage would Jupiter do as a projectile, assuming it is travelling at a speed fast enough to be perceivable by the human eye or to be at least considered projectile speeds (I'm not sure the exact numbers)?
This post was sourced from https://worldbuilding.stackexchange.com/q/11571. It is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
1 answer
You are going to do a lot of damage. To restate the calculations PipperChip has done:
$$ E_k = \frac{1}{2}mv^2 $$ $$ E_k = \frac{1}{2} \times 1.89 \times 10^{27} \times 13000^2 $$ $$ = 1.6 \times 10^{35} \text{J} $$
That's quite a lot of energy - enough to destroy 665 Earths. And that's just the energy Jupiter has at its orbit velocity.
However, if you're going to move it, you also need a lot of energy. Most likely this energy is also pretty significant: not only is Jupiter incredibly heavy, it's a gas giant, so you can't just hire a rocket to give it a push - it'll go right through. With that kind of technology and energy to throw around, it would be a foolish alien to mess with you.
0 comment threads
0 comment threads