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TECH: 3 Best Odds against an Extinction-Level Asteroid Collision
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3 Best Odds against an Extinction-Level Asteroid Collision
By Stella Law

BT 201908 TECH 05The last time a giant space rock capable of causing havoc on a planetary scale collided with the Earth, it ended up wiping out all non-avian dinosaurs alongside 75% of other plant and animal species. Unless we, as a species, want to suffer from a similar fate someday, it’s imperative that humanity gets its act together and buckle up for the inevitable.

Inevitable, yes! Because sooner or later, the Earth is bound to be hit by an asteroid or comet large enough to trigger another wave of mass extinction. Not to mention the smaller and much more common “city-busters” that could come virtually undetected through space and level entire cities, causing millions of deaths.

Fortunately, some of the smartest minds out there are trying to figure a viable solution to this existential crisis for humanity. Here are 3 such methods scientists are deliberating over in the hope that if push comes to shove, they will be able to help the Earth avoid any such cataclysmic event.

上一次能够对地球造成严重破坏的巨型太空岩石撞击,最终消灭了所有非鸟类恐龙以及75%的其他植物和动物物种。除非我们作为一个物种,有一天想要遭受类似的命运,否则人类必须共同行动并为不可避免的事情做好准备。

幸运的是,一些最聪明的人正试图为这种存在的人类危机找到一个可行的解决方案。以下是科学家正在考虑的3种方法,希望如果推动它们,它们将能够帮助地球避免任何类似的灾难性事件。

1. Powerful nuclear warheads

Nope, it’s not what you are probably thinking. The idea that a nuclear weapon can be used to shatter an incoming asteroid into oblivion may have been a charming concept in pop culture back in the days. In reality, however, it’s a super-terrible idea.

First of all, depending upon the size and composition of the asteroid, any such attempt to blow up an asteroid could prove totally futile. Worse even, consider a scenario when the nuclear blast splits the asteroid into two or three fragments of significant size. That would be simply a disaster considering that we would then have two or three different giant killer space rocks to dodge from.

Rather, scientists are considering a subtler approach, wherein they plan on detonating the weapon at a large enough distance from the asteroid so its structural integrity is not much affected by the unadulterated force from the blast. The intense radiation, however, could get the job done by vaporizing a significant part of the asteroid’s surface, which in turn, could alter its speed and trajectory enough, so it would miss Earth.

BT 201908 TECH 02核弹头摧毁小行星

在过去的日子里,核武器可以被用来粉碎入侵的小行星可能是流行文化中一个迷人的概念。然而,实际上,这是一个非常可怕的想法。

首先,根据小行星的大小和组成,任何这种炸毁小行星的企图都可能是徒劳的。更糟糕的是,考虑一种情况,即核爆炸将小行星分成两个或三个相当大的碎片,那将只是一场灾难。

相反,科学家正在考虑一种更微妙的方法,他们计划在距离小行星足够远的距离引爆武器,因此其结构完整性不会受到来自爆炸的纯粹力量的影响。然而,强烈的辐射可以通过蒸发小行星表面的大部分来完成工作,这反过来又可以改变其速度和轨迹,从而使它错过地球。

2. Giving the asteroid a paint job

Yeah, we know it sounds a bit eccentric to plan something of this sort, while staring back at the bleak face of impending planetary doom. But, trust us when we say that scientists are not planning on sending a bunch of angry teenagers to do rebellious graffiti on the incoming lethal space potato.

Instead, they think it could be a good idea to paint a large part of the asteroid’s surface in white, so it reflects back more solar radiation than usual.

By the laws of physics, as the painted surface reflect incoming photons back into space, it also experiences a “counter-push” from the photons. While the push from the photons is pretty negligible, it eventually adds up over time (usually over many years). All goes well, this nudge could be just enough to steer the asteroid clear of Earth’s course.

BT 201908 TECH 03粉刷小行星

将小行星表面的大部分描绘成白色被认为是一个好主意,因此它反射的太阳辐射比往常更多。

根据物理定律,当绘制的表面将入射光子反射回太空时,它也会经历光子的“反推”。虽然光子的推动几乎可以忽略不计,但它最终会随着时间的推移而增加(通常是多年),这种轻推可能足以引导小行星远离地球的航线。

3. Using space-mirrors

If movies have taught us anything, mirrors are our best buddies if we were ever to fight monsters, such as vampires or gorgons. So, why not try using it to scare off killer asteroids, right?

Well, there are experts who believe mirrors could just do the trick. According to them, brandishing a large enough mirror against the asteroid would act just like the nuclear option mentioned earlier, but a lot safer. The idea here is to strategically place the mirror so it can converge solar rays and focus it on a small part on the asteroid’s surface.

Over time, the heat, resulting from the concentrated beam, will start vaporizing materials from the affected region. Give the process enough time, and the heat will have ejected enough material from the asteroid to give it thrust and change its momentum (thereby altering its trajectory).

However, the important thing to note here is that in order for any of these tactics to yield the desired outcome, we will have to identify the threat years prior to the possible collision. Another challenge would be to accurately predict the asteroid’s size, composition, and trajectory.

BT 201908 TECH 04使用太空镜

根据专家的说法,在小行星上挥舞足够大的镜子就像前面提到的核选项一样。这里的想法是策略性地放置镜子,使其能够会聚太阳光线并将其聚焦在小行星表面的一小部分上。

随着时间的推移,由聚光束产生的热量将开始从受影响的区域蒸发物质。给这个过程足够的时间,热量将从小行星中喷出足够的物质,使其产生推力并改变其动量(从而改变其轨迹)。

但是,需要注意的重要一点是,为了使这些策略中的任何一种产生预期的结果,我们必须在可能的碰撞之前确定威胁年数。另一个挑战是准确预测小行星的大小,构成和轨迹。

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