Bruce Willis Deflects An Asteroid - Really?
Monday, February 17, 2014 - 09:20
in Mathematics & Economics
Bruce Willis heroically managed to save the world in the film 1998 Armageddon. He was able to deflect a huge Earth-bound asteroid with the expedient use of a well placed thermonuclear explosion. But some have questioned whether Willis’s feat would actually have been possible – without breaking the laws of physics . . .A research team from the University of Leicester, UK, investigated exactly this problem, calculating the energy which would be required to sufficiently alter the course of a 1000 km diameter meteor hurtling towards Earth at 10 km per second. Their verdict can be summarised in just two words : “Sorry Bruce”. read more
