From: Alexei Turchin (alexeiturchin@gmail.com)
Date: Fri Dec 12 2008 - 09:53:55 MST
Larry, thank you for understanding and support.
Alexei
On 12/12/08, Larry <entropy@farviolet.com> wrote:
>
> On Fri, 12 Dec 2008, William Hall wrote:
>
>
> > Alexi,
> >
> > Let's get real here.
> >
> > To fuse, deuterium nuclei have to come together physically in an area the
> > size of the atomic nucleus. This takes a great deal of pressure and heat.
> >
>
> This happens in an H-bomb.
>
>
> > More likely than two deuterium nuclei fusing is that a deuterium nucleus
> and
> > a hydrogen nucleus will fuse to form helium 3. I doubt that the pressures
> in
> > a gas giant are anything like high enough to support detonation of the
> whole
> > planet. Unlike nuclear fission, where fast neutron cause fission ahead of
> > the shock front resulting from the release of energy by prior fission
> events
> > and thus generate true detonations, fusion requires extremely high
> pressures
> > and temperatures such as are found in the centers of stars.
> >
>
> Or in a fusion detonation wave, especially in a liquid hydrogen ocean.
>
>
> > Even assuming that you could set of an H bomb in the center of a gas
> giant,
> > the heat released would cause the surrounding material to expand and
> thereby
> > reduce the probability of further fusion.
> >
>
> Actually the heating would come only after the detonation wave. High temp
> plasma is opaque to light, neutrinos are the only thing that would out run
> the wave. The wave travels faster than the speed of sound, the molecules
> wouldn't "know" to move out of the way due to prior heating.
>
>
> > As long as significant fusion
> > continues, there is a homeostatic relationship between pressure and the
> > release of heat. As the rate of fusion increases and more heat is released
> > the star expands to reduce the rate of fusion.
> >
>
> Stars begin there initial nuclear ignition slowly, pressure slowly grows
> until conditions are right, at that point it self regulates. Of course you
> might not want to be right next to a star that just "turned on".
>
>
> > Conceivably, if the temperature of a gas giant was raised locally by a
> bomb,
> > perhaps there would be enough pressure in the core to sustain a continuing
> > rate of fusion. With luck, you might end up with a short-lived brown
> dwarf.
> > Even if the surface temperature of the planet reached the temperature of
> the
> > Sun, several factors would mitigate any significant impact on the
> > temperature and ecology of the earth.
> >
>
> I don't believe it would have sustained fusion, only a possible
> detonation. Of course this doesn't need to be argued about, nuclear
> physics can provide a definite answer. Regrettably I don't have
> the background to do this math, the people who are most qualified
> likely have very high security clearances. However I certainly can't
> claim to rule it out, it certainly seems a liquid hydrogen ocean might
> be able to support a fusion detonation wave.
>
>
> > ...
> >
>
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