would the blast wave ever stop, or would the blast be bigger because there is no pressure to contain it in a certain area!
2007-09-24 14:20:21 · 6 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
In the late 1950s and early 1960s both the United States and Soviet Union detonated nuclear bombs in space. See the source for details.
2007-09-24 16:13:30 · answer #1 · answered by campbelp2002 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well, we have to be careful about what we mean by "blast." When a nuclear bomb is detonated, it generates a huge amount of energy in the form of heat (motion), photons (light) and neutrinos (which we can ignore). The heat and light cause a big flash which heats the air (or water, or land, or whatever) around it. It's that surrounding matter that makes up the blast wave that we associate with a nuclear bomb.
In space, there would be very little surrounding matter to create a blast--just the material of the bomb itself, which is very small. So there really wouldn't be a "blast" at all.
The big flash of light, on the other hand, would travel for a long way though space. It would never really stop, although it would get very dim as it spread out through the expanse of space. However, by astronomical standards, even our largest bombs would be a tiny blip. It would be hard to detect outside our solar system.
2007-09-24 15:32:49 · answer #2 · answered by gunghoiguana 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
The blast wave would continue until it dissipated into the background dust and gas in space.
A nuclear bomb is very small compared to a stellar explosion, so it might not be visible for very long (unless the debris glowed from ultraviolet light from a nearby star).
It would probably look like a supernova remnant, just very VERY small in comparison and very short-lived).
2007-09-24 14:24:06 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
What I have come to understand is that scientists don't know what would happen because no one has ever set one off in space before. That is why a nuclear bomb is not an option to eliminate an earth-threatening asteroid.
2007-09-24 14:41:36 · answer #4 · answered by Jim ((C.A.B.)) 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well, that never occoured to me, but the blast rediaus would deffinately be MUCh bigger than it would be on earth!
2007-09-24 14:51:00 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
would be a really cool light show
2007-09-24 16:59:52 · answer #6 · answered by pokerfaces55 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋