69 replies to this topic

[link.the.first]

Unless you do one of the following:

1: Put six missiles together. Fire three of them to get the three into space, then when they run out of fuel fire the other three so they clear Earth's gravity.

2: Dismantle them, then load the uranium cores of several missiles onto a single, really big two-stage rocket (or use a railgun) and shoot it off. Maybe use a Delta rocket or something we use to deploy satellites, only modified for more fuel so it can break Earth orbit.

[MSpencer]

1. Add all their masses together. Either way they still won't clear the atmosphere. If you multiply the mass by 6, it doesn't change the thrust...
2. Too expensive, it's much easier to dispose of the missiles by burning them off in their silos and then filling the silos with cement. We can get rid of the uranium by placing it underground.

[link.the.first]

That works too

[MSpencer]

They've been doing it for years.

[Ash]

Oh, by the way, I'd need to mention another flaw in Link's fire-three-then-fire-the-other-three plan:

ICBM fuel doesn't work without oxygen. The reason space rockets take off is 'cause they carry hydrogen in big tanks, and oxygen in big tanks. The oxygen's blasted into the hydrogen which igntes in a lovely powerful explosion. It can't combust outside of the presence of oxygen.

However, a big space rocket would be a good means to dispose of large amounts of nuclear waste. Blast it at the sun using a Saturn V or something.
Edit: Don't use an Ariane. They explode more readily than nitroglycerine.

Edited by Comrade Jerkov, 06 February 2006 - 06:03 PM.

[Drewry]

What affect would blasting depleting uranium have on the sun if any. We should probably take that into concern before doing it. My guess is probably nothing will happen but there is still a chance. And before launching this stuff at the sun we should understand the effects.

[Ash]

The sun is quite a few thousand degrees hot. The uranium and the rocket would melt and evaporate a few thousand miles away.

[Kazyumi]

It could leave a dust cloud that would shade the world for forever! :o

[Drewry]

The sun is quite a few thousand degrees hot. The uranium and the rocket would melt and evaporate a few thousand miles away.

So what? That is not what my question was. Yea duh it evaporates into smaller particles of uranium, but it is still uranium. You say evaporate like it just goes away, well it doesnt. What sort of affect would it have on the allready unstable nuclear reaction the sun is performing. My guess is nothing, but in large amounts it could have quite some affect. All I am saying is, lets say we do this for years and years at a time, not thinking anything could possibly happen. Because of us disregarding this very fact, something could happen. I just think we should see what could possibly happen as I think this is a great alternative to disposing nuclear waste.

Edited by Drewry, 09 February 2006 - 06:13 AM.

[MSpencer]

Two different reactions. Uranium is fission, the sun does fusion. Also, it's unlikely uranium would do anything. It would be a very small amount compared to a very large amount of star up there.
Also, I can drop nuclear bombs on the floor, throw them across the room, flood them with hydrogen and helium, place a second core of plutonium in there somewhere, and it still wouldn't have any effect on their effectiveness.