Planet destruction question

Shinova · Post by **Shinova** » 2003-01-28 09:55pm

Does it take more energy to vaporize a planet or to blow it into chunks that fly away from the gravity well at high speeds? (many thousand kilometers per second)

Spanky The Dolphin · Post by **Spanky The Dolphin** » 2003-01-28 10:00pm

It takes more to blast it into pieces that escape gravity, IIRC.

I also have a question: I heard that a planet can be destroyed through resonence frequency (like how the waves of an earthquake can alone cause buildings to crumble). Is that true?

Post by **Darth Wong** » 2003-01-28 10:06pm

Spanky The Dolphin wrote:It takes more to blast it into pieces that escape gravity, IIRC.

It takes less energy to vapourize most materials than it does to accelerate them to escape velocity.

I also have a question: I heard that a planet can be destroyed through resonence frequency (like how the waves of an earthquake can alone cause buildings to crumble). Is that true?

Sure, as long as you can somehow generate monster vibrations that happen to meet the 2.4E32 J requirement and be so large that they hurl the planet's mass away at escape velocity. Resonance isn't magic.

Spanky The Dolphin · Post by **Spanky The Dolphin** » 2003-01-28 10:20pm

Okay, I though so. I remember my Intro to Environmental Science Professor bringing it up during a lecture, and he even said what the octive (or note or whatever, I'm an idiot when it comes to music) was, but I can't remember. Maybe F something to the x octive, or whatever.

I think he said that you can snap the wave as it reaches either side of the planet, until the wave builds up, hits the freequency, and shatters the planet.

jaeger115 · Post by **jaeger115** » 2003-01-28 10:23pm

Does that mean a laser fired at Earth that is resonant with the planet will destroy it?

Spanky The Dolphin · Post by **Spanky The Dolphin** » 2003-01-28 10:24pm

I don't think so, as I'm refering to seismic waves.

Post by **Darth Wong** » 2003-01-28 10:24pm

Spanky The Dolphin wrote:Okay, I though so. I remember my Intro to Environmental Science Professor bringing it up during a lecture, and he even said what the octive (or note or whatever, I'm an idiot when it comes to music) was, but I can't remember. Maybe F something to the x octive, or whatever.

I think he said that you can snap the wave as it reaches either side of the planet, until the wave builds up, hits the freequency, and shatters the planet.

Sure, all you have to do is hit it with a giant 2.4E32 J baseball bat

Spanky The Dolphin · Post by **Spanky The Dolphin** » 2003-01-28 10:27pm

Well, the good news is that now I know how the Holy Kakarakan Empire in my little Sci-Fi universe was able to destroy two planets.

Frank Hipper · Post by **Frank Hipper** » 2003-01-28 11:58pm

Spanky The Dolphin wrote:Okay, I though so. I remember my Intro to Environmental Science Professor bringing it up during a lecture, and he even said what the octive (or note or whatever, I'm an idiot when it comes to music) was, but I can't remember. Maybe F something to the x octive, or whatever.

I think he said that you can snap the wave as it reaches either side of the planet, until the wave builds up, hits the freequency, and shatters the planet.

[Mr. Burns] Excellent [/Mr. Burns] Now, where did I put that tuba.....