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From: will@anasazi.UUCP (Will Fuller)
Newsgroups: net.space,net.physics
Subject: Re: Thermonuclear Device
Message-ID: <497@anasazi.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 20-Jan-86 12:56:45 EST
Article-I.D.: anasazi.497
Posted: Mon Jan 20 12:56:45 1986
Date-Received: Thu, 23-Jan-86 09:20:16 EST
References: <8601182109.AA26118@s1-b.arpa>
Reply-To: will@anasazi.UUCP (Will Fuller)
Organization: Anasazi, Phoenix Az.
Lines: 32
Xref: watmath net.space:5301 net.physics:3765
Summary: Numbers wanted


     
In article <8601182109.AA26118@s1-b.arpa> dietz@SLB-DOLL.CSNET (Paul Dietz) writes:
>The idea of using very high velocity projectiles to initiate fusion has
>been considered.  It isn't too terribly feasible.  One would have to
>ram projectiles together at > 100 km/sec; just hitting air would do
>nothing.

Ramming objects together is quite another matter entirely. What was
origionally proposed was to use the heat generated by aerobraking
for ablation.  I have no idea what temperatures would be required
to obtain the desired combination of temperature and pressure inside
a ceramic sphere by the ablation process. Seems like some of you
laser fusion experts out there could hang some numbers on this one.
Further, I have no idea what sort of atmospheric impact velocities
would be required to achieve the above temperatures. Perhaps some of
the NASA types on the net could fill in some numbers.

The only "wow" number that I can think of off hand is that the Soviet
Vennera lander was subject to temperatures in excess of the surface
temperature of the sun (far cry from the interior) when it entered the
Venusian atmosphere.

Seems like ~6-7 years back some fellow writing in Mercury or Icarus or
maybe even the Ap. J., tried to show that a meteorite with trace
hydrogen isotopes might have caused the Siberian Tenchutka (spelling?)
meteoritic devestation. Unfortunately, the only journals I have available
any more are the UN*X Reveiw, etc., (gek!) or I would try to find the
article again.
--
William H. Fuller
{decvax|ihnp4|hao}!noao!terak!anasazi!will