Timeline for Single-use nuke-propelled mass driver spaceship
Current License: CC BY-SA 4.0
8 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 18, 2019 at 3:24 | comment | added | Ingolifs | I've edited my original question to include a mass of material between the projectile and the nuclear explosive, that vaporises into gas and plasma. | |
| Jan 18, 2019 at 3:18 | comment | added | Tim B II | @Ingolifs the trouble with comparing Operation Plumbbob to this scenario is that it was conducted on Earth, not space. Earth has an atmosphere that can be heated as an expanding gas and plasma, space doesn't have a medium in which to propagate the blast wave. | |
| Jan 18, 2019 at 1:50 | comment | added | Ingolifs | I'm not convinced by this answer. Operation Plumbbob has shown that such a thing is at least possible, though it may require a separation of gas between the nuclear explosive and the projectile, and probably a much weaker nuke than the likes of Fat Man (let alone Tsar Bomba). | |
| Jan 18, 2019 at 0:02 | history | edited | Tim B II | CC BY-SA 4.0 |
Added in research found on ablative propulsion
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| Jan 17, 2019 at 23:38 | history | edited | Tim B II | CC BY-SA 4.0 |
Added in some references to the Nuclear Pulse Propulsion topic
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| Jan 17, 2019 at 23:18 | comment | added | Tim B II | @CortAmmon you're right; I'd forgotten about that until you mentioned it. I just did a quick check on it and most of the material I can find on this talks about specific impulses, but doesn't actually go into detail about how the blast wave in space actually works. It seems to be related to the surrounding mass being converted to plasma. I'll do some more research and edit accordingly within the next couple of hours. | |
| Jan 17, 2019 at 23:02 | comment | added | Cort Ammon | While I too question its practicality, is this not roughly analogous to the nuclear pulse rocket concept? | |
| Jan 17, 2019 at 22:56 | history | answered | Tim B II | CC BY-SA 4.0 |