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From: dietz%usc-cse%USC-ECL%SRI-NIC@sri-unix.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.space
Subject: Deuterium on Venus
Message-ID: <14936@sri-arpa.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 27-Dec-83 09:20:00 EST
Article-I.D.: sri-arpa.14936
Posted: Tue Dec 27 09:20:00 1983
Date-Received: Sat, 31-Dec-83 04:26:40 EST
Lines: 33

One of the more intriguing discoveries in space exploration was the
finding from spectrometer on a atmospheric probe of the Pioneer Venus
spacecraft that deuterium is greatly enriched in Venus's atmosphere.
The deuterium/hydrogen-1 ratio is 100 times larger on Venus than on
Earth;  the hydrogen there is nearly 2% deuterium (by weight).

Apparently Venus has been acting for millions of years as an isotope
separator.  Sulfuric acid, water and other hydrogen compounds are
dissociated at high altitude by solar UV radiation.  Hydrogen-1 atoms
escape much faster than deuterium atoms because of their lower mass and
consequent higher average velocity at any given temperature.

Apart from making deuterium extraction on Venus attractive, this
enrichment may make terraforming Venus much easier.  Deuterium
undergoes fusion reactions much more easily than hydrogen-1.  There was
some concern back during WW-2 at Los Alamos that the first atomic bomb
would start self-propagating nuclear reactions in the earth's
atmosphere between deuterium and nitrogen.  This didn't occur (of
course);  perhaps it would have if there was more deuterium.

We can begin terraforming Venus by dropping a nuclear bomb into its
atmosphere.  If the deuterium reactions are self sustaining most of the
atmosphere will be blown off into space.  We'd probably want to blow up
Venus when it's behind the sun to avoid flash/EMP effects on Earth.

All this depends on whether deuterium/nitrogen reactions can be made
self sustaining.  The difficulties encountered in building the H-bomb
suggest that it's not possible (too bad).  If so, we can build a
mammoth fusion bomb on Venus using native deuterium.  This would make
lots of neutrons, though, so it would have to be detonated high in the
atmosphere to avoid inducing radioactivity in the crust.